One More Star in the Sky
by SweetRevenge151
Summary: COMPLETE-Chapter Eighteen-In which the curtain falls...a romy story, though not really in a conventional sense....mysterious!
1. In which the end is only the beginning

Disclaimer: I own a cat and several pairs of shoes, but not the x-men, sadly. 

Authors Note: This is the first story that I have ever posted, so please be kind. I'm really sorry if the formatting is terrible, I'm new to all of this but I'm trying my best. Also, I'd be really grateful if at least one person would be nice and review for me-you would make my day! Anyway, on with the story...

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter One (In which the end is only the beginning)

"Right men, that's the last experiment on this subject" Trask barked as he strode into the room.

Three lab-coated scientists surrounded the prone body of a teenage girl, a mutant, with pale skin and auburn hair and white hair, certainly no older than eighteen. They were carrying out tests on her. Trays around the bed she was strapped to contained vials of brightly coloured liquids, syringes and dangerous looking, stainless steel instruments.

"Terminate the project!" He yelled, slamming his hand down on the nearest surface. One of the scientists, the one stood closest to Trask threw him an angry look.

"Trask, you can't just 'terminate' the project! It's a life, a person, and you can't just end it because it suits your plans."

"The other three mutant test subjects have already been liberated from our other bases by a mutant vigilante group, its only a matter of time before they find this one too, I don't want to give them the satisfaction a fourth time! Now, Dr Hunter, unless you want to join this...this mutant," he threatened, looking at the girl like she was filth, "I suggest you shut up and follow orders!"

"Just because I agreed to perform these tests for you does not mean I'm going to kill for you!" Dr Hunter retorted.

"Well in that case," spat Trask, "I can find other people who can have the privilege of working on this project, now get out of my sight before I decide to make YOU my next subject!"

The doctor looked between the girl and Trask, obviously weighing up his options. He had nothing against mutants, but he was a scientist, and fascinated by the X gene, the gene that made mutants, mutants. However, he decided he had worked for this lunatic long enough; he pulled off his white coat and threw in to the floor, angrily storming out of the room.

He knew what would happen to this mutant, whether he was there or not, what Trask wanted, Trask usually saw that he got it. There was no difference to be made now, what's done would soon be done and he wanted no more part in it.

Trask looked back to the two remaining doctors, both now visibly scared. Both of them were much younger than Dr. Hunter, one of them was little more than a med student.

"Come on!" Trask yelled again, "Finish this!"

With shaking hands, the older of the two remaining doctors picked up a syringe from the nearest tray, filling it with an entire vial of clear liquid. Trask watched with a sadistic pleasure as the needle punctured the girls pale flesh and the fluid disappeared. There was then a long, loud beep from the heart monitors they had attached to her previously, indicating that she had flat lined.

Trask left the room and walked back down the gloomy, depressing corridors of his military base grinning evilly to himself. Now there was one less mutant in the world.

-o-o-o-o-

Rogue had very little recollection of what had happened to her during the time at the base. In truth, she wasn't sure how long she had even been there, the team of doctors had sedated her regularly and so she had been unconscious most of the time. In a way, she was grateful for that, she had felt very little pain during her stay there.

Now, she found herself floating above her own body, watching what was going on around her. She saw her pale, lifeless self being covered over with a sheet and a man and a woman in white coats carefully tidying away all the shiny instruments that had been used on her. After they were done, they silently left the room, the man holding the heavy door open for his female colleague.

Rogue stayed there though, not quite believing what had happened. It still wasn't quite sinking in, was this really the end? Would she never get to see her friends again? What had happened to the others that had been captured by Trask? She hoped to god that they hadn't met the same fate as her.

Suddenly from the top corner of the room, she saw a tiny speck of golden light shining through the wall. Gradually, the speck grew bigger, until it was a huge glowing hole in the ceiling. As it washed over her, Rogue felt an amazing sense of peace, not the fear a person would expect from such a situation, it had a wonderfully calming, soporific affect.

She felt herself moving with the light, it was taking her with it and it was out of her control to stop it. As the beautiful light began to leave the room, Rogue could feel herself floating away, back through the small hole that the light had originally come from. Eventually, all of the glow was gone, and so was Rogue.

For a while, all she could see was the light. It surrounded her completely obscuring everything else from view, like a thick fog. Finally, it cleared and Rogue found herself somewhere new, somewhere she didn't recognise.

She was standing outside a white wooden door, with two large frosted glass panels, one at the top, one at the bottom, separated by a little more of the white wood. Across the top panel of glass, at eye level and in frosted silver letters read the word "Reception."

Slightly confused, she knocked very slightly on the wood of the door and then turned the shiny silver handle, opening it and putting her head in to see what exactly the "Reception" was.

Behind the door was a large, white room and on the far side of the room, a woman sat behind a white wooden desk, quietly typing at a computer with a flat screen. The woman, who was obviously the receptionist, had curly auburn hair, which was neatly twisted up at the back of her head and fastened with a silver hairclip. She was dressed all in white; a smart white shirt with a white v-neck jumper over it was all that was visible from where Rogue was standing, but she was sure the woman was probably wearing white pants and shoes too.

The whole place was white. The walls, the floors, the chairs around the room; they were all white. It could have looked incredibly surgical and sterile, like a hospital waiting room but instead the white had a kind of celestial glow that made it look less severe.

"Ermm, excuse meh?" Rogue gingerly asked to get the woman's attention.

The woman looked up from her typing, and forced a slight smile at Rogue.

"Name please" She asked.

"Rogue"

"Full name" the receptionist added with a little contempt.

Rogue sighed and rolled her eyes. She hated her proper name; it was a grim reminder of a past she wanted desperately to forget.

"Marie Darkholme."

The receptionist nodded. "Right, let me just find your file..."

She turned back to the computer she had been working on previously, and began to click at the mouse, bringing up a set of new files. Eventually she appeared to have found the right one, which made her frown.

"Hmm, Marie Darkholme, we weren't expecting you here quite so soon."

"Here?" Rogue asked, she still had no idea where she had ended up

"Why don't you take a seat? Someone will be here with you shortly," the woman told her curtly, ignoring her confusion completely.

"But..." Rogue started.

"Seat!" the woman told her again, pointing at one of the comfy looking white armchairs that were opposite the reception desk.

Rogue stomped off and threw herself down into a chair. The receptionist went back to her typing, leaving Rogue alone and confused. The room was quiet except for the soft clicking of nicely manicured nails on computer keys.

After what seemed like a small eternity, the relative silence was broken by the high pitched ding of an elevator stopping at its final floor. It was then that a new door opened up to the right of the reception desk. Rogue hadn't really noticed it before, but it was most definitely an elevator, a fancy old fashioned one with a wrought iron gate that pulled across and glowing silver numbers above it that lit up, indicating the floor at which the elevator was currently moving through.

Out of the open elevator door stepped a young woman, certainly no older that her early twenties. She was tall and slim with slightly wavy golden blonde hair that fell down just past her shoulders and was tied back into a half ponytail. Like the receptionist, she was also dressed completely in white with smart white suit pants, white high-heeled round-toed shoes and a white sleeveless top with a low V-shaped neckline.

"Hi" she greeted Rogue brightly in a distinct British accent. "You must be Marie."

Rogue nodded, who the hell was this? And how did she know her name? Rogue was certain that she hadn't seen the receptionist call and tell anyone that she was here.

"My names Faye," the blonde woman continued, holding out a hand to shake Rogues. "Welcome to heaven."

* * *

Well, that's the first chapter, any good? Eventually, this will be a romy story, but you'll have to sit tight for a couple more chapters to see everybody's favourite Cajun...

I think now would probably be a good time to add that I don't own the film "A Life Less Ordinary" on which this fic is loosely based, it's a good film though...


	2. In which theres always a simple explanat...

Disclaimer: still not mine, one day though... 

Authors Note: I'm sorry the first chapter was pretty vague, lol, who am I kidding, this whole story is pretty vague, but if you've made it this far, you're doing good already! Also, as another kinda disclaimer, I know Rogue is really OOC, but I've leant more towards the nineties cartoon version, where she called everyone "sugah" and its hard doing it any other way...apologies in advance.

Thanks to anyone and everyone who took the time to review for me. You're very kind, very kind.

**Star-of-Chaos:** hmm, I hope it will be; I'm screwed if it isn't!

**Ishandahalf:** uber intrigued you say? Heh, coolness. The next few chapters will be quick like a bunny on crack! I promise! After that though...

**Ms. Rogue Lebeau:** yes sorry, Rogue is dead, but not gone and certainly not forgotten...

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Two (In which there's always a simple explanation)

"Heaven!" Rogue couldn't believe it. She knew something wasn't quite right when she had found herself hovering above her own body back in Trasks base, but she hadn't been sure what to think. 'This has ta all be some kinda weird hallucination' she decided, 'Ah can't be dead!'

"Yep" Faye confirmed, "welcome to the other side!"

"This can't be real, its all some horrible dream an' soon Ah'm gonna wake up back in the med bay in tha mansion or somethin'" said Rogue, burying her head in her hands.

Faye sat herself and Rogue down in two of the reception room chairs and turned to face her.

"I'm sorry, but this is real, look." She pinched Rogue's hand a little. Rogue recoiled, feeling the sharp pain of the pinch.

"I'm afraid you've died Marie."

It was only then that the enormity of what had happened struck Rogue. She was really dead. She would never get to go home, she would never see her friends again, she would never have another fight with Kitty about the state of their room, she would never get to race Kurt downstairs in the morning for breakfast, she would never even get to annoy the perfect Jean Grey again. It was too much, and for the first time in as long as she could remember, Rogue felt tears begin to roll down her face.

"Hey, its alright," Faye comforted, putting an arm around her. "It takes some getting used to, but its not so bad really."

"If this is heaven..." Rogue finally managed to choke out, "that would make you an..."

"Angel?" Faye finished for her, "Yep, and now so are you."

"Ah'm no angel" Rogue said sadly, "Ah'm a terrible person."

"Well you can't have been that bad, otherwise you wouldn't be up here."

"Ah'm serious, Ah did some really bad things..."

"Everyone's done bad things Marie, but people redeem themselves, one wrong move doesn't make you blacklisted for life."

Rogue sat quietly for a moment. This was all so surreal, it was sort of hard to take it all in.

"Look" Faye suddenly cut in. "Lets go upstairs, I'll show you where you're staying and explain this whole thing to you."

Rogue nodded and got up out of her chair, following Faye back to the elevator.

"Hey, thanks Janette!" Faye called back to the receptionist as they left. Janette merely nodded, without looking up, as the elevator door shut in front of them. Faye shook her head.

"You try to be nice..." she trailed off, rolling her eyes.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for the elevator to reach its destination. When the doors opened, they found themselves in a small white corridor, with a plain white door at the end.

"Ya get ya own lift?" Rogue enquired.

"Nope, but the lifts are funny, you just have to kinda think where you wanna go and it takes you straight there."

"Neat" said Rogue, her voice edged with sarcasm.

Faye turned the handle on the door, behind which was a completely white apartment. It was a decent size, with a living-come-dining room and a kitchen just off of that, there was also doors leading to what turned out to be a bathroom and two bedrooms.

Rogue looked around the living area she was now standing in. She had never seen so much white in her life, it seemed to be a running trend with this place and the amazing thing was that it was all spotless, anyone would have expected that much white to get dirty real quick.

Faye poured herself a glass of wine and sat on the couch, legs crossed underneath her, Rogue took a seat opposite her in a big white armchair.

"So." Faye started, taking a sip of her drink, "how did you end up here?"

"Ah was in this mutant group, the X-Men. These big robot things, sentinels, attacked us, Ah got captured, and they took me ta this military base. Ah don' really remembah much else but Ah know they did a load of experiments on me. Next thing Ah know, Ah'm floating above mah own body."

Faye winced, it sounded horrible.

"How 'bout ya?" Rogue asked back.

"Nothing as bad as that. I was driving hom one night and this guy crashed into the side of the car, luckily my boyfriend, who was driving, wasn't hurt that badly, but I wasn't so lucky. That was over a year and a half ago."

There was a small silence between them, it was strange, talking about your own death to someone you had only just met.

"Am Ah stayin' here with ya?" Rogue suddenly asked.

"Yep, I'm gonna be your "mentor" for a while, every newbie gets one."

"Mentor? Wah do Ah need a mentor? There ain't that much ta bein' dead."

"More than you think." Faye told her. "Every angel here has a job, that's how it works. I'm a guardian angel, and now, so are you."

"A guardian angel?" Rogue said in slight disbelief. "Ah'm not so sure Ah lahke the sound o' that."

"Well, you'll get given a case to work on, but you won't necessarily stick with that person forever."

"What? Ya just kinda give up on people after a while?" Rogue asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Nooo, not exactly. Some peoples problems just get solved, they don't really need you anymore. You don't stay in one job forever either, people are always switching jobs, being promoted and demoted, like one big company, it would get boring otherwise." Faye explained, taking another drink.

"Switchin' jobs?" Questioned Rogue, this was all so confusing...

"Yeah, guarding people isn't the only job in this place. Angels run everything, there are people who make sure the days run on time, that the stars are always shiny, people who specialize in specific seasons, all that jazz."

"Rahte..."

"Ooh!" Faye exclaimed suddenly, putting her glass down. "We should find you your new clothes, they'll be here by now."

She got up off the big white sofa and went towards one of the bedrooms, gesturing for Rogue to follow.

The bedroom that was to be Rogue's was pretty plain. It was all white, with a large double bed, a wardrobe and a dressing table complete with mirror. The floor was white and wooden, and there was a white fluffy rug beside the bed.

Faye went to the wardrobe and opened the doors with a dramatic flourish.

"Ta-da!"

The wardrobe was filled with clothes, all white and all Rogue's size, despite the fact they were in a colour she probably wouldn't have chosen to wear, she was glad to see them, she was still wearing her tattered, torn X-Men uniform.

"Well," Faye said, "I'll leave you to get changed."

-o-o-o-o-

A short while later, Rogue emerged from the room in a pair of white pants and a soft white cashmere jumper.

"Ah don't mean ta sound ungrateful, but does everythin' have ta be wahte?"

Faye laughed. "Yeah it makes everyone look like they're living the space odyssey or something"

"Ah have a question," Rogue began suddenly, "If you're an angel, and Ah'm an angel, where are the wings and tha halo, and the long wahte robes?"

"I have the wings but I don't always use 'em, they're heavy! Try carting huge feathery things around with you for a while, then you'll know what back pain truly is."

She lifted up the back of her shirt to show Rogue two long faint marks on her back, a slightly different colour from her skin.

"They come out there, doesn't hurt or anything, then I put them away when I don't need them, you'll get yours once you know how to use them. As for the halo, no-one ever wears them except for parties, kind of a dressing up thing."

Rogue nodded. "There's anothah thing Ah wanna ask ya about. Mah mutant power, Ah could neavah touch anyone, skin ta skin, Ah'd absorb 'em, put 'em in a coma...Ah was wondrin'...do Ah still have mah absorbin' powers now that Ah'm...dead."

"Hmm, I doubt it. Technically you haven't got skin to absorb people with, do you wanna test it out?"

"Ah'm not so sure" Rogue started, she didn't wanna hurt anyone, already dead or not, but before she could stop her, Faye reached out and touched the bare skin on her face. Nothing happened, no fainting, no new memories, nothing.

"Ah can touch!" Rouge exclaimed. She knew that it was probably because she didn't have proper skin anymore, but at that moment, it all seemed trivial.

She had got the one thing she had craved for so many years.

Faye smiled; it was good to see this girl had at least one upside of an afterlife.

"I gotta go see someone, do you just wanna make yourself at home? I'll be back a bit later." She told Rogue.

"Sure, ya go, Ah'll be fahne." Rogue waved her off.

With Faye gone, Rogue tried to take a better look around the apartment. There wasn't really much that gave away anything about her new roommates personality; there were no photos of anyone that wasn't completely dressed in white, there were few traces left of Faye's former life.

By far the most unusual thing though was the window on the wall opposite the door. Looking out of it, all that Rogue could see was sky that stretched for miles, punctuated with fluffy clouds. It had been a beautiful blue earlier, but now it was turning shades of pink and orange as it got later and later.

Rogue decided that perhaps she should get some rest; it had been a long day all in all. Crawling into the soft white bed that felt suspiciously like a cloud, Rogue thought about what had happened.

Faye seemed nice enough she supposed, maybe a little too like Jean for her liking, but rather uncharacteristically for her, she decided to give her a little more time. She wished that she could see her friends just one last time. She missed them all so much, she never thought she would, it was scary just how big an effect they had had on her life. For the second time that day, she felt warm salty tears run down her cheeks.

Eventually, she drifted off into a deep sleep. Her dreams filled with angels like Faye, and Devils like Trask...

* * *

Is everything explained a little bit better now? I'm kinda worried that this story is completely incoherent to everyone except me! Don't worry too much about Faye, she's really only there to make everything easier to explain. I'm also gonna take a guess that if your dead, you wouldn't actually need to eat or drink or sleep, but it makes for good filler, non?

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me so far, you're being very patient! Sorryness, but theres still a little longer to wait for Remy, but he will turn up, promise!

So does anyone feel like reviewing? Anyone at all? Pretty please? ;)


	3. In which theres a job to be done

Disclaimer: not mine, probably never will be :( 

Authors Note: a quick third chapter, Im trying to get the last heaven-y bit outta the way and bring in a certain someone... ;). I wanna thank everyone who's reviewed for me so far, you've been very encouraging, I luv ya all:) Shout out time!

**Ishandahalf:** yes, complications may well arise, you'll have to wait and see!

**Star-of-Chaos:** yep! And I know just the person to look after him...

**The nameless one & Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** yep, sorry, Rogue is most definitely dead :(

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Three (In which there's a job to be done)

It had now been a little over three weeks since Rogue had arrived in heaven. She had only really just gotten used to the idea that she would not be able to go home, she missed the institute like crazy, but she was used to it up here now. Faye had been right; it wasn't so bad really.

She had been allowed to visit her friends one last time, just to say goodbye. They hadn't been able to see her of course, but she made sure she visited everyone, even Jean and said her farewells. That had helped her a lot, now she could get on with the rest of her...erm...life.

Her wings had also come through now. They were large, feathery and incredibly heavy, but once they had been retracted, she couldn't feel them at all and as it turned out, there was very little to flying.

She had lost her gothic make-up too, not through choice, but she hadn't exactly been able to take any with her, and they hadn't provided her with any once she had got up here. They all seemed to go in for 'the natural look' in a big way anyway, Rogue figured she could put up with it...for now...

Today, her and Faye had gone down to the main office to get the paperwork for what was to be Rogue's first case as a guardian angel. The office was where documents on all the cases were kept, as well as information about every angel in heaven and every job that needed to be done.

The elevator stopped outside a door, not dissimilar to the Reception door that Rogue had first arrived at. Pushing it open, they found the biggest and busiest office that Rogue had ever seen. Everywhere there were angels dressed in white, working at white desks, people talking over the top of each other, phones ringing, photocopy machines whirring, no one seemed to be still for a second.

All the desks seemed to fall into different sections for different jobs. There was a section for weather, for seasons, for the moon, the stars, the days of the week and everything else Rogue could possibly think of, but the guardian angel section seemed nowhere to be seen.

They carefully weaved their way through all the busy office staff, being careful not to smash into anyone or knock papers off desks, until eventually they reached the right area. Faye grabbed Rogue hand, pulling her through the crowds of people until she found the desk she was looking for.

At this desk, a young man with brown hair, wearing a white suit was working, his head down, obviously trying to ignore the bustle around him.

"Hi Mark!" Faye greeted him brightly.

The man looked up and smiled. Rogue looked back and forth between the two, and raised an eyebrow.

"Morning, you look nice today," he told her. He had a British accent too; Rogue thought perhaps they had started some kind of club.

"Thanks. Mark, this is Marie Darkholme, we're trying to find the file for case she's been assigned to."

"New recruit eh? Welcome Marie, nice to meet you," the man said, taking Rogue's hand and shaking it. "I'm Mark, I'm a friend of Faye's."

"Rahte..." Rogue trailed off cynically.

Mark looked a little perplexed, but started towards a nearby door of frosted glass. Once they were there, he pulled out a set of shining silver keys from the pocket of his trousers and carefully unlocked the door.

The big white room was covered with shelves and shelves of files that stretched from the ceiling to the floor, as far as the eye could see. These files contained the cases that not only were being worked on at the present moment, but were also on a waiting list for an angel, or had been pre-assigned one. Mark walked back and forth alongside a couple of sections of the shelves, until he found the right one.

"Darkholme, Darkholme..." he murmured as he searched the rows until finally...

"Ah ha!"

He pulled out the thin white card file and handed it to Rogue.

"There you go, not bad for a first case," he mused, "not too many loose ends to be tied up..."

Faye took the file from Rogue and quickly skimmed through it before handing it back, nodding.

"Yep, just clear up what's bothering them, set them on the right track so eventually they'll find themselves up here too." She told Rogue with a smile.

Now it was Rogues turn to look through the file she had been given. There was a photo and a full set of details, which she quickly skimmed through.

'A mutant' she thought to herself, 'and from tha south too...'

"Once you get down there," Mark cut in, disturbing her train of thought, "its up to you how to deal with the problem, but you can come to your mentor for advice. Any huge, life altering decisions that you decide might need to be made however will have to go through Gabriel first and given his approval."

"Gabriel?" Rogue had to ask, she had never thought that there actually was an angel Gabriel.

"He's meant to be in charge of us, like some kinda manager, but he's responsible for every angel here, it's a big job." Faye told her.

"Yeah and it makes him stressed," added Mark bitterly.

"Oh just 'cos he's yelled at you a couple of times, what do you expect? Its an occupational hazard..."

"I bet if it was you he yelled at you'd feel differently, it's alright for you, you barely ever see him..."

"Oh quit complaining."

Rogue coughed purposely, making the bickering angels stop and turn to face her, as if just remembering she was there.

"Ah, yes, right..."Mark continued, flustered. "Can you start on this tomorrow morning?"

Rogue nodded, it would be nice to see the earth again...

* * *

so that's pretty much it from heaven. Remy anyone?

Thanks for your patience so far and please review! I love hearing from you!


	4. In which there is a meeting

Disclaimer: ahh its on the first three pages... 

Authors Note: ah ha! Finally, after drawing it out for way to long, we meet our man! Sorry, but I'm afraid you have to kinda use your imagination a bit with this; for starters Remy has never met Rogue and was never an acolyte...anyway, glazing over that, I hope you like it! Shout out time!

**Ishandahalf:** aww I couldn't be that cruel to you! I promised you Remy and so Remy you have!

**Star-of-Chaos:** nope they've never met. I really should have thought about that before I starting writing this story, im sorry :(

**Miya Reino:** no, I'm not familiar with the series, but im sure it is better than my sorry excuse for fiction However, I'm glad you like it so far, and you don't have to wait any longer for Remy!

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** I love that pairing too, always have done, always will do!

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Four (In which a meeting takes place)

Remy Lebeau lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, his hands under his head, the fingers linked together. A young mutant thief living in New Orleans, he had his fair share of problems, just like the rest of the world, but at the moment one in particular played heavily on his mind.

From a young age, he had been betrothed to his childhood friend Belladonna Bordeaux, daughter of the leader of the assassins. Their marriage was suppose to heal the old wounds between the two warring guilds and bring peace, a peace that was sorely needed. It was true that he had cared for Bella once, but he didn't want to marry her, to be stuck in an unhappy marriage from a young age was not an appealing thought.

There was no way out of it though, no matter how much he protested, his father would merely tell him that it was for the 'greater good' and that it was time he accepted it. Many people told him that he should consider himself lucky to have such a beautiful fiancé. It was true that Belle was pretty, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes that made most heads turn, but she was also a demanding, spoilt little princess that Remy knew would be impossible to live with.

To top it all off, there were people that were even more opposed to the marriage than he was. There was Belle's older brother Julien for instance. He had never considered a ladies man like Remy to be good enough for his baby sister, he would be quite happy to see him dead if it meant the wedding wouldn't take place. It would be a solution, yes, but a little bit too permanent for Remy's liking.

"What de hell are y' gonna do Lebeau, dere be no escapin' dis one, y' stuck wit dat chienne whet'er y' like it or not."

"Bitch, bitch, bitch," came a voice from the other side of the room, "is that all ya ever do?"

Remy sat up sharply. Sitting on his desk, was a girl, not much younger than himself, with curious auburn and white striped hair. She was dressed in a knee length with skirt, white knee-high stiletto boots and a thin, white turtleneck sweater. She sat with one leg crossed over the other and was busy examining her nails, not bothering to look up at him as she spoke.

"Who de hell are y' and how did y' get in here?" Remy asked angrily. This house was the guild of thieves! Nobody should have been able to get in undetected.

"So many questions Mr. Lebeau..." she said vaguely, looking up at him this time. "Now lets pick one to start with ta start with."

It was only when she looked up that he could see how truly, breathtaking beautiful this mysterious girl was. She had amazing bright green eyes that looked like emeralds against her pale skin. Her auburn hair was quite short, coming half way down her neck, but the strands at the front were a pure, snow white. Remy kicked himself slightly that he'd shouted at her, it had not been a good first impression.

"Fine, who are y'?"

"Ah'm ya guardian angel sugah. Ah'm here ta look after ya."

He laughed, "nice one chére, who said Remy needed lookin' after?"

"Not mah choice swamp rat, jus' mah job."

"Job? Oh y' gotta give the angel thing a rest chére."

"It's the truth!" she exclaimed indignantly, "ya want proof?"

He merely nodded, folding his arms, smirking ever so slightly. Rogue got up from her seat on the desk and concentrated incredibly hard, until eventually, the small white feathery tips of her impressive wings could be seen on her back. They grew gradually bigger, until they were fully formed, and she looked just like the heavenly being that she was. Now she was the one who was smirking, hands on hips, as Remy stood there looking shocked, unable to speak.

"Happy now?"

All he could do was nod, his jaw hanging open. Rogue retracted the wings; there was no mark on her clothing to indicate they had ever come through.

Whilst he was still staring, Rogue took the time to study him properly. The photo that she had been given of him along with his file definitely did not do him justice. To start with, he had the most unusual, hypnotizing eyes that she had ever seen, ruby red on jet black. He was ruggedly handsome; with dishevelled auburn hair and a little stubble showing through where he had obviously forgotten to shave. Rogue was beginning to seriously think that this job definitely had some perks after all.

"Does mon ange have a name den?" Finally, it seemed as if Remy had learnt how to form coherent sentences again.

"Mar...Rogue, mah name's Rogue." She had had enough of people calling her Marie to last an eternity.

"A rogue angel?" smirked Remy, only to have Rogue roll her eyes at him.

"So," he began again, "tell me why y' t'ink Remy needs divine intervention." He folded his arms and sat back down on his bed, looking skeptical.

"Cos ya got problems sugah, whether ya gonna admit them ta me or not, Ah already know all about ya." On that note, the file containing all Remy's details appeared in her hand.

"Eh hem," she coughed dramatically as she opened it. "Rahte, Remy Etienne Lebeau," she read aloud. She skimmed down a little further in silence, until she looked back up at him, one eyebrow raised.

"A thief?"

"Yep chére, always have been, always will been."

"Oooh that's gonna count against ya..." She murmured.

"Remy not so sure he like y' knowin' everythin' about him chére, 'specially if y' gonna judge." He made a lunge at the file, missing as Rogue held it up high, floating up in the air slightly to gain an advantage.

"Ah ah ah!" she teased, holding it higher, "paws off swamp rat!" Remy glowered darkly, muttering to himself.

"It says here ya got a problem with some girl? Belladonna?"

"Oui," Remy finally relented, sitting back down. "Remy suppose to marry her against his will, dere be no way outta it..."

"Pessimist." She retorted.

"Y' know y' ain't all dat angelic," he bit back.

"Well it wouldn't kill ya ta be a lil nahcer, Ah'm here ta save ya sorry ass an' all ya can do is critisahze!"

"Y' de one who broke int' mon room! Now go away, what's done is done, Remy don' need y' help."

"Ah ain't going Cajun, Ah gotta job ta do. Ah'm here ta see that ya don't have ta marry this girl, ya could try ta be a bit grateful, or at tha very least, helpful!"

"Fine" he sulked, "what y' gonna do?"

"Hmm," mused Rogue as she sat back down on his desk, swinging her legs a little. "Well, we could trah and get her ta fall foah some othah guy, then she wouldn't wanna marry ya. Or...ya could trah and convince her that ya a really bad choice foah a husband, then maybe she won't wanna go through with it. They need at least one of ya ta say 'Ah do' rahte?"

Remy laughed. "It ain't gonna be dat easy mon chére, Belle, she don' give up easy."

"Well ya don't seem ta have any better idea's..."

"Dis' weddin', its suppose t' bring peace between de guilds, mon family ain't jus' gonna stand by an' watch it all fall t' nothin'"

"Well they don't have ta fahnd out until its too late, now, we can go fahnd her tomorra' and trah ta put her off ya."

"Dat's gonna be hard chére, de ladies, dey jus' can't get enough of me." He told her, a cocky grin plastered all over his handsome face. Rogue just rolled her eyes.

"What's it like up dere chére? Heaven I mean..." he asked her quietly.

"It's...different, Ah've only been there a about a month, its taken a lil getting used ta, but its tha kind 'o place where its hard ta be unhappy, though Ah somehow doubt that's unintentional."

His eyes widened a tiny bit. "Only a month? Dat means y' can't be much younger than Remy."

"Ah'm seventeen, woulda turned eighteen in 6 months..."

"How did it happen chére? Why y' up dere so young?"

"Some people really don' lahke mutants sugah, I was unlucky, Ah got caught." She answered him simply, not really wishing to tell all the gory details.

He gritted his teeth and took in breath sharply, anger written all over his features.

"Anyway, Ah should go, let ya get on. Ah'll be back nahce an' early tomorra, then we can go see Belle."

"Alright mon ange, it's a date."

And on that note, she merely sighed, and then disappeared completely.

* * *

I'm really not sure why I've decided to be nice to Belle, I hate her and am usually pretty happy when she suffers, but with a shrugging of my shoulders, I'm giving her a break...please don't hate me for that!

Anyway, I'd love to know what y'all think, so review for me? Pretty please! Reviews make my day...


	5. In which we take two steps forward and o...

Authors Note: my friend has slapped me on the wrists for being very critical about my story in my author's notes. She said, and I quote, "Oh stop being so bloody pessimistic!" so from now on, I will try to be better about it. Hurrah for my shortcomings! Anyway, onto my reviewers, all of whom I love dearly! 

**Ishandahalf:** your review made me laugh; you actually put something that's in this chapter of the story! Are you a telepath in disguise? Yep, Remy can see Rogue, but no one else can... and fire of a thousand suns? I honestly thought I was the only person who used that phrase, turns out I was wrong! With Belle, I generally follow the rule of "don't just hate, annihilate," but I think if Rogue was an angel, she would try and do the right thing, make sense?

**Star-of-Chaos:** I'm glad you thought it was cool :) that chapter worried me lots, it was that one scene that made me come up with this whole story...

**Miya Reino:** I've already written quite a bit of this story, and im ashamed to admit that parts of it do feel a bit rushed. Not because I want to cram it all in, I just lack decent story-writing skills :( your review did make me think about that though, its certainly something I'll bear in mind for the chapters yet to be finished. Romyness is to come! I promised you romy, and denying my reviewers would be like denying myself. The plot bunnies send their love by the way...

**Roguewanderer:** ahh you're just the same! Perhaps you and my friend are in cahoots, I'm really glad you like the story though, encouragement always makes me happy! As for reactions...you'll have to wait and see ;)

So anyway...

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Five (In which we take two steps forward, and one step back)

"Hey swamp rat, time ta wake up!" Rogue softly sang into Remy's ear. The sleepy Cajun groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over his head.

"Why y' up botherin' Remy so damn early chére?" he grumbled.

"Ah don't really need sleep anymore sugah, so Ah'm up with tha lark as they say."

"But does Remy really have t' as well?"

"Yes! We should get an early start on tha whole Belle thing." Remy ignored her reasoning completely, instead choosing to bury himself further into his bed. In the end, Rogue decided that her first approach obviously wasn't going to work, and opted for a slightly more...direct one. Picking the soft pillow up from the bed, she gave him a sharp whack over the head with it.

"Saprist! Chére!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head as he sat up in bed. "Dat ain't nice!"

"Well c'mon! Up!" she told him forcefully. Remy got out of bed, grabbed some clothes and began to walk towards the bathroom, muttering something to himself about angels from hell. Eventually, he emerged in a fitted black t-shirt that showed off his toned physique and a pair of worn blue jeans. Rogue bit her lip, dammit, why did she have to be dead?

He grabbed the brown trench coat that he was never without of the back of a chair as he left the room, Rogue in tow.

-o-o-o-o-

"Mon dieu! Look everyone, Remy's actually awake before midday!" his father Jean-Luc teased in mock amazement as Remy walked down the stairs.

"An' a bonne mornin' t' y' too pere." Remy replied a little bitterly as he sat down at the table with everyone else for breakfast.

"So why are y' up so early Remy, s'very unlike y'" his sister in law Mercy asked him as she buttered her toast.

"Jus' a naggin' little voice in the back o' Remy's mind tellin' him he shouldn' sleep in," he told her, shooting a quick glare at Rogue who had taken a vacant seat at the table opposite him. She gave him an innocent look back.

Breakfast didn't last long. Everyone seemed to have places that they needed to be, whether it was for work or pleasure, so nobody hung around. Remy took the opportunity to slink off out of the house without any questions being asked.

Belle's family didn't live far from Remy's, and the day was a pleasant one so he decided to walk instead of taking his beloved motorcycle.

"So chére, do y' have any idea what Remy's gonna say t' Belle?" He asked Rogue who was walking along side him.

"Nope, just kahda wingin' it. Ah'm not sure we should be discussin' this rahte now sugah, no-one else can see me remember? People are gonna see ya walking along the road talkin' ta yaself an' think ya crazy."

"Already seein' angels chére, seems a logical step t' me."

They rounded the corner and found themselves standing outside an enormous mansion, set back from the road, an ornate iron gate keeping them out. Remy took out his bo staff from one of the inside pockets of his coat. Extending it to its full length with the press of a button, he used it to vault neatly over the gate, careful to avoid the alarms he knew were in place.

He sauntered up the winding driveway, stopping outside the large wooden front door. Politely, he rang the bell, only to have Belladonna herself answer.

"Remy!" she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck, "y' came t' see me!"

"Belle," said Remy sternly as he unwrapped himself from her embrace. "Remy t'inks we should have a lil talk."

"Bout what chére?" she asked him, closing the door behind her as they started to walk through the huge gardens, side by side, Remy sandwiched in between Rogue and Belle.

"Y' so sure y' wanna go through with dis wedding thing?" he asked Bella gravely.

"O' course I wanna marry y'!" Belle exclaimed.

"Remy ain't gonna make a very good husband, t'ink y' should be warned."

Belle stopped in her tracks, folding her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"An' why exactly would y' be such a bad husband?"

"Errm..." Remy started. He was stuck, he hadn't actually thought of any reasons he could give her. He threw Rogue a frantic searching look to indicate she needed to help him think of something, and fast.

"Oh just make up some lil white lies sugah, say you have commitment issue or something. Or that you'd be lookin' at otha women the whole tahme, she won't lahke that!" Rogue told him. He nodded, pretending to Bella that he was in deep thought.

"Y' know Remy ain't very good at de whole 'commitment' t'ing, an' he have a wanderin' eye, y' don' wanna husband who's always lookin' at ot'er filles."

"But Remy, I know dat would all change once we get married!" she said wistfully.

"But..." he started again, growing a little more desperate.

"No!" she forcefully cut him off. "Listen LeBeau, I know dat y' don' want dis wedding t' go t'rough, but we're getting married, y' hear me! Whet'er y' want t' or not! Now I t'ink its best if y' leave before Julien sees y'!" on that note, Belle stormed off back towards the house, leaving Remy and Rogue standing there, looking a little bewildered.

"Well, that was interestin'..." Rogue stated.

"Y' got any more bright ideas chére?" Remy asked sarcastically as they started to walk back down the driveway, away from the mansion.

"Ok! It didn't go quahte as smoothly as Ah had planned! We can think o' somethin' else."

"Well we better t'ink quick, time be runnin' out." They reached the iron gates and Remy used his staff to exit the same way he had entered.

"Ah'll go an' ask around, see if anyone upstairs has any brahte ideas."

"Au revoir chére," he said as she disappeared.

-o-o-o-o-

"Faye?" Rogue asked tentatively as she walked into the apartment. Faye was sitting at the table, writing notes into her white case folder. She looked up when Rogue called her name, taking the thin silver glasses she wore when she was writing off.

"Ah wanted ya advice..." Rogue asked, sitting down at the table opposite Faye.

"Course, what's the matter?

"Well tha guy Ah'm looking afta, Remy, he's suppose ta marry this girl against his will. Ah thought we should go see her and tell give her loadsa reasons not ta marry him, so she wouldn't want ta either, but it didn't work! She wants ta make him suffer anyway!"

"Hmm, so you want some other ideas?" Faye asked, chewing on the arm of her glasses a little. Rogue nodded.

"Ah thought mebbe we could get her ta fall in love with someone else, then she wouldn't need Remy. Could we do that?"

"You can't actually force people to fall in love, but you could go and see Cupid, he could help, or at least tell you if its possible." Faye told her.

"Ah should o' guessed..."

"It might be one of those things that needs to be put through Gabriel first though, ask Mark, he knows about stuff like that."

"Rahte, thanks, see ya later."

Rogue left Faye to her notes and took the elevator down to the main office. She wasn't interested in going to see Mark, that could wait; she was interested in finding Cupid himself.

It took her a while to find the right section of the large office room, and even longer to find the small office that belonged to Cupid. After being made to wait for ages by his pushy secretary, she was finally allowed in.

Cupid's office seemed to the exception in the "all white" theme than ran through the place. Granted the walls, floor and furniture were white, but there were large red and pink hearts everywhere. Rogue surveyed the interestingly decorated office, raising an eyebrow. Cupid himself was sitting behind his desk in a comfy looking, swivelly chair. He beamed when he saw Rogue.

"Come in my dear!" he called to her flamboyantly, wildly gesturing to a chair on the other side of the desk. Rogue quietly shut the door behind her before taking her seat.

"I understand you're interested in doing a little some matchmaking..." he enquired.

"Yeah, Ah need to stop a weddin', Ah thought ah could make tha bride-ta-be fall in love with someone else."

"Yes, that could work..." he mused, leaning back in his chair, fingertips touching. "You would need to find someone for her to set her up with though, I can't just create someone new for you, do you have any ideas for who might do?"

"No, not yet, Ah just wanted ta know if it would be possible, Ah wouldn't be breakin' any laws or anythin'?"

"Not with me my dear!" he told her brightly, "the bride and groom though, were they destined to be together? I'm afraid I couldn't let you do it if they were!"

Just the idea of Remy and Belle being made for one another made Rogue laugh. "Nah, he hates her too much, it's an arranged marriage."

"Well in that case! Go right ahead my dear!"

"Thanks, Ah'll let ya get on then..." she got up and turned to leave.

"Good luck!" Cupid called after her.

-o-o-o-o-

Remy carried on walking, whistling a little to himself as he went. Suddenly, he felt a small, sharp object hit him on the back of the head. He rubbed the spot it had hit and turned around to see where it had come from. Behind him was Julien, accompanied by two other angry assassins.

"Hey Lebeau, what have I told y' bout comin' near mon sister!" he yelled at Remy.

"Merde," Remy breathed in quietly, he did not need this today.

"I t'ink y' need t' be taught a lesson Lebeau, an' dats jus' what I'm gonna do." He threated. Remy readied himself for the fight he just knew was coming, Julien was renowned for his violent temper.

Before he knew it, the two assassins that had been on either side of Julien attacked. Remy quickly extended his staff, using it to swipe one attacker of his feet before he could get the first punch in. There was a sharp blow to his face from the other assassin, causing him to reel back a little from the force. From his sleeve, he flicked out a card, charging it quickly and throwing it with amazing skill and accuracy. The explosion that followed was enough to send the one conscious assassin flying backwards across the sidewalk, now Remy was left facing Julien.

"Y' good Lebeau, but not as good as me."

Julien launched himself at Remy, who narrowly avoided the blow. Julien had quick reflexes though, before Remy knew it he had received a couple of punches to his face, they stung a little but he shrugged it off. Remy charged more cards and quickly threw them one after the other towards Julien.

"It don't have t' be like dis Julien!" Remy yelled between punches and explosions.

"Oui! It does! Y' never be good enough for her!"

Remy grabbed his staff from the floor where it had rolled after one particularly vicious punch. He swiped at Julien, hitting him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and making him bend over double. He quickly brought the staff round into the back of Julien's knees, causing him to collapse, breathless and bleeding, as was Remy.

"Don't t'ink dis is over LeBeau!" He screamed as he crawled away. Remy fell to his knees on the pavement, breathing heavily. He was covered in cuts and bruises from the attack, at least Julien and his lackeys had come of worse though. There was nobody around, and so he lay down, closing his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at an angelic face, framed by soft white hair, concerned green eyes staring deeply into his own.

"Oh thank gawd ya ok," she said, breathing out deeply. She offered a hand, helping him sit up and knelt down beside him, then buried her face in her hand.

"Ah'm the worse guardian angel ever, how could Ah have let this happen?"

"Ain't y' fault chére, y' were busy."

"Still! Ah'm meant ta be looking after ya! Just look at ya..." her fingertips touched the side of his face, tracing the cuts and bruises ever so softly. He closed his eyes and leant into her touch ever so slightly, thinking how nice it felt.

"C'mon sugah, lets get ya home, Ah'll tell ya all about what Ah was doing when I should have been down here helping ya." Using Rogue as a lever, he pulled himself up but didn't let go of Rogue's hand, walking back like that the whole way home.

* * *

I think outta all the chapters I've done, I like this one the most. I dunno why though...I like Cupid too! However small his cameo role was, I based him off a friend of mine who always makes me laugh, he's a lot of fun...

Anyway, the more you review, the more I love you! So please, review review review!


	6. In which there is a set up

Authors Note: Oooh I'm pleased! Your reviews were lovely! You're very very nice people! A couple of you said that this story was very original, which makes me extra-specially pleased! That's kinda what I was going for. Anyway...here is the next chapter, I don't like it much, but I tried I guess... 

Now, onto the lovely reviews in question...

**Misa1124:** wow, that's a very nice review for me! Although now I'm worried that I'll disappoint :(

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** ah ha ha! You'll just have to wait and see who is unfortunate enough to end up with Bella...

**Ishandahalf:** yep, super points for you for your telepathic abilities! And my! You think this is too cool for school? That's good considering school is what's preventing me for updating quicker! I think everyone hopes Rogues dubious plan will work, Belle is pure evil, she doesn't deserve Remy! I'm glad you like the ending too ;)

**Miya Reino:** are you sure that's a good idea? Bunnies on sugar high sounds disastrous to me! The plot bunnies have abandoned me anyway sob I'm onto chapter 11 (yep, ya can't get rid of me that easily!) and I'm stuck...evil rabbits...

**Roguewanderer:** heh heh, I'm glad everyone likes cupid, like I said, he's based on a friend of mine, pretty much every character I've had to make up is based on someone I know! Thanks for the review; you're very encouraging!

Star-of-Chaos: ooh, a good question...and one I haven't actually thought about. Answer pending!

**Zen Master White Dragon**: ooh no I haven't heard of that book, but I'm going to do a little research on it now! If this fic is based on anything, it's all the angel films I watch, like Always and A Life Less Ordinary (both of which have Holly Hunter in them, so its all connected. Pointless fact for you there!) Thank you for the lovely review too!

**Faith:** yeah it is kinda strange, but hey! It's the best I got! I can't tell you if there's gonna be a happy ending or not...you'll have to wait and see...

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Six (In which there is a set-up)

Remy had been careful not to get caught when he got back home, the last thing he needed was a ton of questions about what he had been up to. He was sure his Tante Mattie knew though, that woman never missed a trick.

Now, him and Rogue sat on his bedroom floor, discussing what to do next. She was holding an ice pack to his jaw to stop it from swelling, she already done her best with his other injuries.

Rogue finished telling him about her meeting with Cupid earlier in the day, to which Remy looked more than slightly confused, but now they needed to think about what direction the plan should take next.

"Well its onta plan B Ah guess" sighed Rogue, "can ya think of anyone we could get her ta fall for sugah?" she asked as she nursed his cuts and bruises. "A family member would be great, that would sort ya whole guild peace thing wouldn't it?"

"Oui chére, but none o' Remy's family gonna go near her wit' a ten foot pole, dey know what she really like."

"Hmm, ok, anyone else she was interested in? Its gotta be someone she at least kind 'o likes."

"Errrm..." pondered Remy. He couldn't think of anyone off the top of his head, but then a sudden thought struck him. "Dere was dis guy in one o' two of her classes at high school, Remy heard on de grape vine dat she liked him. Might not be dat good an option dough chére."

"Well we got no-one else sugah, tell me 'bout him."

"Don' really know dat much ta tell y' mon ange. His name be Jacques, he was definitely in her English class, might have bin on a couple of de sports teams too, don' really remember him much m'self."

"Ya don't remember him? Didn't ya go ta school with him?" Rogue raised an eyebrow. She remembered her school from the south. It was so small that everyone knew everyone, which made stuff a little uncomfortable sometimes; she remembered how quickly the news that she was a mutant had spread when she absorbed her boyfriend Cody, she also remembered how everyone had driven her out of town after that, it was painful to think back on. The high school she had attended in Bayville was much bigger though, not that she had ever really made the effort to get to know anybody there.

"Remy didn't go t' school all dat much chére, de family business, its much more fun non?" He smirked wickedly at her, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Well where does he live, we should go see him."

"Dunno, but Remy can find out. What would we say t' him anyway, dis ain't exactly an easy situation t' explain."

Rogue smiled, laughing a little. "Yeah Ah guess ya have a point there swamp rat. We have ta do somethin' though."

"Don't y' have some kind o' heavenly power dat y' can use in situations like dese?"

"If Ah do Ah don't know about it."

"Fine, be difficult."

Rogue rested back on her hands, her legs stretched out in front of her. A silence rested between the two, both deep in thought. Perhaps in this instance, the simplest plan would be the best one.

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do," Rogue told him suddenly. "We're gonna send a note ta Jacques, from Belle, and we're also gonna send a note ta Belle, from Jacques, telling them that tha other one can't stop thinkin' about them and wants ta meet them in a certain place at a certain tahme."

Remy looked a little skeptical, it was a very basic plan, he wasn't even sure that Belle liked Jacques, and vice versa, enough to meet up like that. However, he didn't have any better ideas so he was stuck with it.

"We can try it chére, but Remy don' know if Belle gonna fall for somethin' like dat, she cleverer dan she looks."

"It'll have ta do, Ah got nothin' else."

Remy fetched some paper and they set about writing letters to both Bella and Jacques. They decided to keep it short and sweet, not wanting to complicate the matter further with unnecessary detail. Once both were done, Remy snuck out of the house again and mailed them quickly. He was all for just breaking in to Belle and Jacques houses and leaving the notes there, but as Rogue pointed out, that would raise questions on both sides as to how they had gotten into each others places like that. Belle and her assassins might have managed it, but there was no way in hell that Jacques could have got past all the security there was in Belles mansion.

The trap was set, now all they had to do was wait...

-o-o-o-o-

Rogue and Remy had scheduled the meeting between Belle and Jacques to take place at a small café in the French Quarter at around midday a few days later. Now they both sat in one corner of the café, Remy hidden from view behind a large bushy pot-plant, anxious that Belle didn't see him. Rogue didn't care; she couldn't be seen by anyone other than Remy, she could have sat in Belles lap if she wanted to without anyone being any the wiser.

It wasn't long before into the café walked a tall, handsome young man of about eighteen. He was athletically built with dark hair and eyes. Evidently, this was Jacques. He took a seat at a table opposite Rogue and Remy, looking nervously round the quiet café, playing with his napkin.

A few minutes after Jacques arrival, Belle waltzed in through the glass double-doors and after quickly surveying the room, thankfully missing Remy who ducked down behind his plant even further, went to sit with Jacques.

Rogue was silently pleased. It was working so far, at least they were sitting there together, and from what she could see, they were getting along like a house on fire. The soft sound of Belles laughter floated across the café, she was flirting like crazy, so much for being totally devoted to Remy.

"Can't y' get a bit closer chére, hear what dey're sayin'?"

Rogue nodded and walked across the floor, sitting down at the table right next to Jacque and Belles. The conversation was inane, but anyone could see that the two had really clicked, Rogue was even starting to think she'd actually done Belle a favour by setting her up with someone new. Belle was twirling a strand of her honey blonde hair around her finger and giggling in a horribly girly way that made Rogue wince just a little. No matter how much her personality had softened, that was really pushing her tolerance.

Meanwhile, Remy sat on his own at the other side of the room, swirling his drink around the glass with his straw. He was finding it increasingly difficult to keeps his eyes off the angelic creature that was now eavesdropping on his fiancé. True, he had only known her about a week and they hadn't exactly gotten off to a brilliant start with each other, but she was beginning to fill his thoughts more and more.

'Dis is wrong' he thought to himself "de femmes dead! Its weird enough dat y' friends with her...she is gorgeous dough, y' gotta admit dat.'

However much he wanted Rogue though, he knew he couldn't have her. She was an angel, and he was the Diable Blanc. He really wished that he'd met her when she was alive, but it was just a little late for that particular wish. At that moment, Rogue sauntered back to table, a smile on her beautiful face.

"Ah think its workin'!" she exclaimed, happily taking her seat opposite him again. She was beginning to see why Kitty was so into all this matchmaking junk.

"Remy hopes y' right chére, or else he stuck wit' Bella for good."

* * *

I really wasn't sure who would want Belle. I was tempted to use someone in Remy's family at first, and then I was tempted to use someone evil like Mr Sinister...he's certainly psychotic enough to have her! But in the end, I decided making someone up could be the best way, so hello Jacques! He may not seem crazy, but its always the quiet ones you gotta watch...

Anyway, please review! I love and appreciate all the reviews I get!


	7. In which the days are counted down

Authors Note: this is one of those chapters which is kinda confusing 'cos there are many jumps in time, just thought I'd warn y'all of that now! I got stuck writing it so it's a little hashed together, I apologise. Anyway, I will stop complaining and get onto my reviewers, who make my day! 

**Roguewanderer:** ahh, I have to say that you've become one of my favourite reviewers. You always say the nicest things! Does wonders for my confidence...anyway, yep Belle's been palmed off and soon you'll all see how it turns out...mwhaha...

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** they do! Christ I could have made things so much easier for myself if I'd done proper research...I have to say I'm not particularly up on the Evo stuff grins sheepishly it seems to take agggeeeess for the episodes to get to Britain, I haven't even been able to see Cajun spice yet, I'm terribly behind. I didn't even know it was a comic book series either. I know a fair bit about the original comics and cartoon, but from now on I think your gonna be my official research person, so don't be surprised if you get a desperate email off me occasionally ;)

**Star-of-Chaos:** heh heh, indeed. I tried very hard to think of other villainess people I could use, but Sinister was the only person I came up with. I think my imaginations giving up on me slowly...

**Ishandahalf:** wunderbar! As they say in Germany... I honestly don't know why I felt like saying that...anyway, yeah I guess it does lessen the ick factor, but the borderline necrophilia was why I originally had reservations 'bout this story, oh well, too late now! School is cruel, I have some very big important exams coming up soon, so copious work must be done, but I've got a lil holiday time now, so more romy goodness can prevail.

**Personage:** ahh well theres a lil romy goodness for you here! You'll have to keep reading for more, hint hint. But I'm glad you like, I always appreciate encouragement!

Anyway! I'm starting to ramble in my review responses aren't I? I should probably stop that...hey ho, on with the story!

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Seven (In which the days are counted down)

It had now been well over a month since Rogue had first appeared in Remy's room and the two southerners had become very firm friends, spending almost every waking minute together. They knew each other so much better now. Rogue knew all about the guild and it practises, Remy's mutation and his history with Belle. In return, Remy had been told about the x-men and Rogues involvement with them, the story of what had happened when her powers first manifested and how exactly she had wound up in heaven.

When Rogue fully explained the last point, she thought Remy might explode. As she relayed the story of what Trask had done to her, the railing he was leaning on, and gripping rather too tightly for Rogues liking, charged up; bright pink with glowing kinetic energy. It had taken a lot of soothing words before he calmed down enough to prevent it from blowing up.

It was also several weeks since they had first set Belle up with a replacement for Remy, and it was all going very nicely indeed. Jacques and Belle were still seeing each other secretly, trying to keep it quiet from both the thieves and assassins guilds, who would have been no doubt unhappy with Belle for jeopardizing her arranged marriage.

Occasionally, they would follow them, making sure that the new relationship was going smoothly, smoothly enough to call off the wedding anyway. The date for the big day had been set now, Remy was to be a married man in just over six months time. There had been rumours circulating that Belle was having doubts, although most people had put it down to pre-wedding jitters, however, Rogue and Remy took it as a good sign.

"Do y' t'ink it'll last long enough to get in the way of the wedding chére?" He looked up at Rogue who was sitting quite comfortably on the wall just above him.

"Ah hope so sugah, Ah really do."

"What if it don't dough? What if Belle decides she wants t' marry Remy anyway, den what we gonna do."

"Well we'll just have ta think of a new plan real quick wont we? Ya could always skip town..."

Remy didn't particularly like that idea. It was true, he wanted to leave someday and see the world, but not like that, if he ran out on this wedding, he would be banished forever...

-o-o-o-o-

It was fast approaching the day of the wedding, and still Belle had said nothing. He knew for a fact that she was still seeing Jacques, and he was hoping upon hope that she would make the choice soon.

As wedding plans continued to make good headway, Remy was seriously starting to consider Rogues slightly hasty idea of him leaving in the dead of night. The church had been booked, caterers and flowers had been organised, even a honeymoon had been planned, it was all going incredibly fast and it was completely out of his control.

Rogue was beginning to worry as well. Her first assignment and it was all failing miserably. The only thing she'd had to do was stop the wedding and make Remy happy; so far it hadn't gone brilliantly. She liked him so much more than just a friend now as well, she knew it could never happen, would never happen, but secretly she wanted it to.

It was also a painful reminder that it would never be her walking up the aisle now. She had never been the type to want a white picket fence with two kids and a dog, but she would have liked the option. There was so much she was going to miss out on.

As the days ticked by, it seemed like the wedding would be going ahead after all. Belle was afraid of what would happen if she said she didn't want to get married now. One thing was for certain; her father Marius would not have been pleased, although Julien would have been delighted.

This wedding meant so much more than just the joining of two people, it was the joining of two guilds, a lot was riding on Remy and Belle both making it to the alter. So much blood had already been shed in New Orleans; it was time for it to end.

Now, on the night before his wedding, Remy anxiously paced the room, waiting for his angel to come and keep him company. He had only known her about seven months and already her felt more for her than he ever had for Belle. She was beautiful and kind and made him laugh like no one else could; he couldn't imagine his life without her.

He heard a small cough behind him and sharply turned to find Rogue standing behind him, he hated how she always managed to creep up on him like that. She looked breathtaking. For some reason, she was all dressed up in a white silk halter dress that tied up behind her neck and white strappy shoes. The dress was clingy and accentuated all of her curves. Remy swallowed hard, god it was hard to keep control when she was standing right in front of him dressed like that, all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and kiss her, tell her how he felt

"Y' look tres belle t'night chére, whats de occasion?" he asked nonchalantly, trying to sound calm and collected.

"Ah'm just meetin' some friends," she explained, running her hands down the silk, smoothing out invisible creases. "Ah just wanted ta come and wish ya good luck for tomorrow."

"What, y' not gonna come?"

"Ah can't," she murmured, staring at the floor. He placed a finger under her chin, gently lifting her head until her eyes met his own.

"Ah'm so sorry Remy," she said, the glisten of tears beginning to appear in her eyes. "Ah should have done more, it was mah job ta make sure ya didn't have ta do this, Ah've failed ya."

"Never mon ange, y' did all y' could. Y' tried y' best an' I'll always be grateful for dat." With his thumb, he brushed away a small tear that had escaped from her now watery emerald eyes before pulling her into his chest in a tight embrace gently stroking her auburn hair.

When they pulled apart, Rogue stared up into his mesmerizing red on black eyes. They looked so sad and distant; it tore her apart to see him like this.

"Ah have ta go," she said finally, turning to leave. She stopped and looked back at him, "remember, good luck."

Quickly before she could leave him, Remy grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him again. He didn't know if he would see her again, it was the only chance he had.

"What tha..." she started, but Remy placed a finger on her lips to stop her. Before she knew what had happened, he lent in and placed a tender, gentle kiss on her soft lips. It felt better than he ever imagined it would.

"Goodbye ma chérie."

And that was it. With that parting kiss, Rogue disappeared, tears now streaming down her face.

* * *

Looks like poor Remy is doomed non? But there was a little fluffiness at the end, so its not all bad I guess.

I apologise that I've started updating a little slower than usual. I have a helluva lot of work means I don't have as much time on my hands at the moment. I'll try and keep once a week up, but I promise nothing!

Review for me? Preeetty please! I have nothing to offer you in return, well there's more story I guess, but that's not really a very good prize now is it? I'll try and make some badges or something when I have a spare moment...


	8. In which the day arrives

Authors Note: Ok, so some of you seem to be a little disturbed by my story. I shall clarify to make it a little less disturbing (hopefully). Yes, Rogue is dead, but to Remy she looks, feels and sounds just like any other person, therefore when they're together, it's easy to forget I guess. So I hope that tiny, half-arsed explanation helps to make the Remy/angel Rogue romance a little less...distressing 

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** lol, don't worry; I don't think I need any more continuity type references so you can sleep easy. I've decided to wing it and then the stuff that doesn't make sense I'll call AU! See! The system works! Thanks for the review.

**Ishandahalf:** will they won't they? Do they don't they? All good questions, and the answers to which can only be discovered by reading on! The bunny is tired and the crack doesn't seem to be doing it any good at all. It's not a good sign I tell ya! Not good at all...ta very much for the review luv!

**Miya Reino:** hee hee, the romyness is in jumps and starts but its there! Oh'll you'll like some of the later chapters...I can sense it in my toes! Thank you very much for you review!

**Misa1124:** Just for you, I have done a very rough map of how many chapters I have left to go. I reckon I can make it to about 18 or so, but I think the last chapter will probably be pretty long. Is that a longish story? I'm not really sure I can stretch it out longer than that. Nope, no one but Remy can see Rogue, but to him she's very real indeed...thank you very much for you review too, you said some lovely things!

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Eight (In which the day arrives)

Now Remy stood at the front of the church, looking as if he was attending his own funeral rather than his wedding. There was a deep feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, made worse by the fact that people kept coming over to slap him on the back to congratulate him.

Belle hadn't arrived yet, but the Church was filling up fast. There were so many people, it seemed as if the two families had invited the whole of New Orleans. The place was filled with beautiful pink roses; the florists had really outdone themselves, but Remy didn't notice any of the decorations.

He wished Rogue was here, it might have been just that little bit more bearable if she was, although it wouldn't change the fact that her was stuck with Belle for life now. In a few short hours, he would be married to a woman he didn't love.

Since he was twelve he had known that this day would come eventually. They were meant to be, and this was meant to last a lifetime, but they had grown apart. It was too late; he no longer felt anything for her like he did when he was younger, and he doubted that she felt anything for him either, her heart belonged to Jacques now.

Suddenly, music started playing and Belle appeared down the aisle at the large wooden doors on the arm of her proud father. Remy's heart dropped even more, he had been secretly hoping even now that she wouldn't turn up. She was wearing a frothy white wedding gown, her blonde hair piled up on top of her head and a white lace veil over this. Glancing to his side, he could see his family sitting in the front row. His father and Tante Mattie, his older brother Henri and his wife Mercy, as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, all staring back down the aisle, smiling at the bride.

As she approached, Remy could see that Belle was far from the picture of happiness that she should have been on her own wedding day. There was a distant look in her blue eyes, suggesting that there were many places she would rather be than here right now.

At last, she was standing beside Remy, her veil now lifted over her head, away from her face. The priest began to speak, but Remy tuned him out. He knew his part by now, they had been practising this since before the date had been set, it had become second nature.

Finally, they had reached the vows. A small cousin of Belles who was looking after the rings came forth and handed one of the delicate gold wedding bands to Remy.

"Merci p'tite," he whispered to the kid, who grinned and ran back to his parents.

"Remy Etienne LeBeau," the priest began, "do y' take dis woman, Belladonna Boudreaux, t' be y' lawful wedded wife, t' have an' t' hold from dis day fo'ward, fo' better o' fo' worse, fo' richer o' fo' poorer, in sickness an' in health, t' love an' t' cherish, as long as you both shall live?"

Remy sighed heavily; he knew what had to be done. Carefully he slipped the ring onto the finger of Belle's extended hand.

"I do."

"And do y' Belladonna Boudreaux, take dis man, Remy Etienne LeBeau, t' be y' lawful wedded husband, t' have an' t' hold from dis day fo'ward, fo' better o' fo' worse, fo' richer o' fo' poorer, in sickness an' in health, t' love an' t' cherish, as long as you both shall live?"

Belle picked up her ring, and was about to take Remy's hand, but she faltered. She choked on the words, unable to say them. After what seemed like a lifetime, she dropped the ring, making the guests gasp quietly, all in one voice.

"I'm sorry Remy, I jus' can't do it," she told him, staring into his eyes. "I'm in love wit' someone else, I' should have told y' before, but I couldn't, please don't hate me."

On that last, dramatic note, she ran out of the church, hurriedly taking off the ring on her finger and dropping it in her haste. All the guests were talking now, unable to believe what had just happened. Marius Boudreaux looked murderous as he watched his daughter run. This meant that the thieves now had the upper hand, and no doubt they would use it to their full advantage.

Remy was over the moon. The joy dancing in his eyes was unmistakable, but instead he decided to put on his poker face and play the injured, jilted ex. His own family knew different. He had been trying to weasel out of this marriage for ages, but the assassins didn't, and they were going to make them grovel for all it was worth.

Jean Luc came and put a supportive hand on Remy's shoulder.

"Dere dere son. I know, it's hard, but y'll be all right...in time." He made sure he said it in a voice loud enough so that Marius was sure to hear it. Remy put on a wounded expression.

"Remy t'inks he needs t' go home, have a stiff drink..."

"O' course, y' go." Jean Luc turned to Marius who was now standing sheepishly behind him. "Marius!" he exclaimed, "now what are we gonna do 'bout dat peace treaty?" He put his arm around Marius' shoulders in a slightly threatening way, and started to walk him towards the exit. All the guests were beginning to depart, as was his family and Remy thought that it was high time he made his escape and had his own private celebration.

-o-o-o-o-

He shut the door to his room behind him and leaned back against the closed door. A wide grin spread over his face and he began to laugh, quietly at first, but growing louder and heartier by the second.

"Rogue, where are y'! Remy needs to talk t' y'!" he spluttered out between laughs.

The moment she appeared, she threw her arms around his neck hugging him tightly. He grabbed her round the waist and spun her around, still laughing.

"It worked chére! It worked!" he was incredibly happy, no longer did he have to live in fear that he would end up stuck in a loveless marriage.

"Ah know sugah" she said softly once he had put her down, "Ah watched tha whole thing upstairs."

"Knew y' wouldn't leave dis ol' t'ief" he grinned, stroking the side of her face, making her blush ever so slightly.

"Do ya know what ya gonna do now?" she asked suddenly, pulling away from him.

"Dunno yet chére, but I t'ink I might leave N'awlins, jus' for a while, see a bit more o' de big wide world."

"Where?" she asked him more curiously. It was still her job to look after him, she thought she better find out what he had planned.

"T'ought I might go up north a bit, mebbe take a trip t' New York, always wanted t' see de big apple." Rogue raised an eyebrow, she knew how Remy's mind worked by now, a little sightseeing trip was not all he had planned.

"Really swamp rat? Are ya sure that's all ya gonna do?" she asked skeptically, hands on hips.

"Can't hide anyt'ing from y' can I chére?" she shook her head. "Well Remy t'ought dat whilst he was dere he might go and visit Roguies ol' friends."

"And tell them what? That their former teammate is now hauntin' ya? I don't think its gonna go down to well..."

"Shh p'tite" he soothed, running his hands through her soft hair a little, "It'll all work out, we just play it by ear a bit non?"

* * *

Yay! Goodbye Belle! But how soap-opera-ish was that! I'm very sorry it was such a predictable thing to write, but it worked out ok in the end didn't it? Belle's gone, that's the important thing. And Remy's going north! What FUN! As a certain reviewer of mine would say...

Heh, anyway my loves, please, do review, it only encourages me! Wait, is that really a good thing?


	9. In which we drive on 9

Authors Note: So the Belle fiasco is over, but what will happen now? I misguidedly tried to throw some French in here, I'm not actually sure its right though, feel free to correct me and I'll edit. I'm gonna apologise in advance for the next, ooh...three or so chapters, they're far from good. Anyway, I shall quit being pessimistic again and hope that you all enjoy them. I aim to please! Also! Shout outs to my super lovely wonderful reviewers who said such nice things 

**Star-of-Chaos:** I think he would be pleased too :-) though he doesn't know Rogue is his sister yet...or does he? Is this another huge continuity thing I've managed to screw up? If so I have many chapters of story to re-write...eek

**GreenFairyGirl88:** ooh a new reviewer! How very nice it is to see you! I'm glad you like this story enough to want a sequel, but worry not! There are plenty of chapters left!

**Ishandahalf:** wow, what a lovely long review for me! Heehee, I'm glad I made you jump up and down and cheer, not to mention making your day! How proud do I feel now! And a gold star to boot! My my my, you should see the grin on my face right about now! Yeah, I thought about the ageing thing, but it is sorta addressed later on, promise. It may also interest you to know (though probably not) that the other day I finished writing this entire story, so now I can update quicker than a bunny on crack!

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** fun will ensue! Eventually...

**Miya Reino:** Yeah I think everyone knew Belle would cave, it was a very predictable ending, but it was the best I came up with. As for the schizoid Remy, you'll just have to wait and see!

**Misa1124:** Yep, eighteen chapters, all of which are finally written! I decided Remy shouldn't be the bad guy with the Belle thing this time, he's always the bad guy, time for a change. This was at least he gets to keep his family and Belle's the one run outta town!

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Nine (In which we drive on 9)

Oh how he hated long drives. Speeding along on his powerful black motorbike had certainly been fun for a while, but now he was tired and his ass had gone numb hours ago.

Now, he was almost at Bayville, Rogues former home. She had made it very clear to him that she wasn't so sure about this plan. He thought that secretly she was pleased though. Wherever Remy went, Rogue was required to follow, so she would get to see all her old friends again.

He on the other hand actually found himself looking forward to meeting all the people Rogue had told him about. He had heard so much about her valley girl roommate Kitty, fuzzy blue Kurt, fearless leader Scott, the perfect, obnoxious Jean Grey and a whole host of others that it was like he knew them all personally.

As he drove past through the very picture of suburbia, he started to wonder how Rogue had lived here so long. Most of the houses were painted magnolia and had little white fences, it was far and away one of the sleepiest, most boring looking places he had ever been. Not to mention cold. Remy hated the cold with a passion, in his beloved New Orleans, it was hot and humid most of the time, he had never seen the snow and he liked it that way. Rogue was a southerner like himself, how she put up with the cold he never knew, but he was going to have to do it too.

Despite her vague protests, Rogue had given him some directions to the "Xavier Institute" where she had once lived. Turning the corner into Greymalkin Lane, he realised what she had meant when she told him "ya can't miss it." It was a huge redbrick mansion, towering over the two-up two-downs that surrounded it. It was set back from the road, a huge garden and circular drive in front of it.

Remy parked his bike and took of his helmet, shaking out his auburn hair. Walking up to the vast iron gate in front of the property, there was a small metal sign that read "Xavier Institute for the Gifted," as well as an doorbell with a little intercom box just above it.

He was just about to press the bell, as opposed to his usual method of simply jumping over the wall, when the large gate swung open, allowing him in. Someone already knew he was here.

-o-o-o-o-

Kitty Pryde was upset. It was a Sunday, and by all rights she should have been out with friends or even doing her homework, but she wasn't. She was just sitting in her room, knees hugged to her chest, thinking. Not ten minutes ago she had been in a meeting with the Professor, who had suggested that another young mutant should be brought in to fill the vacancy left by Rogue.

For the first couple of months everyone had hoped upon hope that Rogue was still alive, just missing. They had managed to retrieve Fred, Evan and Logan, but by the time they found out where Rogue was being held and gotten into the place, which turned out to be suspiciously easy, no trace of the stripy haired southerner was left.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, hope had dwindled, but the Professor suggesting that they should start looking for a new member seemed like the final nail in the coffin for Kitty, a sign that everyone had finally given up.

She didn't like the thought of anyone else sharing their bedroom either. Rogues side of the room had been kept pretty much like she had left it, which was a mess, but over the last week or so, Jean and Storm had begun to box a few items up and sending them back to Rogues foster mother, Irene Adler in Caldecott County, Mississippi.

Kitty was just beginning to think that sleep seemed like a very nice idea right now when the Professors voice rang out clear as a bell in her head.

_Would students and teachers please meet me downstairs, we have a visitor..._

-o-o-o-o-

Remy began to wander up the driveway, the gravel softly crunching under his feet. He knew enough about the people who lived here to know that telepaths were around, and presumably this was why the gates had been opened for him. He considered that for a second. If they had opened the gates for him that must mean that they trusted him enough to let him in without question. Remy also decided that since there were telepaths, he better guard his thoughts, which were... impure to say the least.

"Just be careful Rem," a soft southern voice rang in his ear. He nodded silently as he approached large wooden door, the entrance to the Institute.

He didn't even have to knock. He practically jumped back in surprise as the door was pulled open just as he went to knock on it. He mentally scolded himself for not knowing better.

In the foyer of the grand mansion, Remy found a bald man in a wheelchair, surrounded by students, most of which were a good deal younger than Remy and a couple of adults that he presumed to be teachers. He actually found it pretty easy to identify people based on what Rogue had told him. Easiest to pick out was Kurt, there were not many people who had royal blue fur and a long tail, similarly, he took a guess that an older boy in preppy clothes and bizarre red sunglasses was Scott, and the red-head at his side was Jean.

"Good morning, Mr..." The Professor greeted him.

"Lebeau, Remy Lebeau," Remy finished for him even though he was pretty damn sure that he already knew his name. "Nice t' meet y'."

The Professor signalled for Remy along with the students and teachers to follow him into a lavishly decorated office just down the corridor. Once inside, the Professor sat behind his desk, and motioned for Remy to take a seat along with everyone else.

"Welcome, Mr. Lebeau, to the Xavier Institute for the gifted. As I'm sure you have gathered, this is a school for mutants. Cerebro, our computer detected a new mutant signature in the area, that was you was it not?"

Remy nodded. He had actually understood very little of what was just said, something about mutants and computer, but he thought that it was probably best to go along with what they were saying. Rogue had trusted them, and that was good enough for him.

"So" the Professor continued, "Shall I take it that you are interested in joining?"

Remy laughed realising that they were actually trying to recruit him. "Non, je suis desole. De reason Remy be here is dat he has some information on a fille dat was a member of y' school, Rogue."

At the mere mention of the name, a very short, very angry man made a lunge at him, unsheathing dangerous looking metal claws from his hands. Several students went to hold him back so that he couldn't skewer poor Remy.

"What have you done with her Cajun?" the man growled.

"Calm down Logan! You've been wanting answers for months, now we have someone who could give you what you've been looking for and you try to kill him! Please, compose yourself," the professor told him sternly. Logan retracted the claws, but refused to sit down. "Please, Mr. Lebeau, we would be grateful for any information you can give us about Rogue. She has been missing for quite some time."

"Remy sorry t' be de one t' tell y'" he answered, lowering his eyes, "but de Rogue died, several months ago." A stunned silence hit the room. So it was confirmed then, Rogue was not coming back. They had feared as much when neither Jean nor the Professor could pick up any mental activity coming from her.

"YOU!" Logan made another lunge, "YOU KILLED HER!" Remy scrambled over the couch and ran towards the window, Logan hot on his trail. Suddenly, the homicidal mutant was surrounded in an odd blue light that prevented him from moving.

"Thank you Jean" the Professor addressed the red head who was now concentrating very hard, eyes shut, one hand on her forehead.

"I can't hold him much longer!" she exclaimed in some distress, trying to emphasize the time issue.

"Then we'll be quick, Mr. Lebeau I strongly suggest you tell me everything you know about the death of this girl or else the consequences will be very severe indeed. Remy wondered exactly what these 'consequences' were and was about to ask, but thought better of it.

"She was killed by a homme name Trask, she said he did a lot of experiments on her, den she don't remember nothin' else."

"Trask..." the older man said gravely, "we were worried about what happened if he ever did get his hands on a mutant, unfortunately now we know... Wait, what did you mean when you told me that 'she said' he performed experiments on her?" he added as an after though.

"Roguie, she been lookin' after Remy, keepin' him safe."

Now, everyone in the room was looking at him like he was completely crazy. He had just walked into their school and claimed that their dead friend was now talking to him; most of them were not quite sure what to think.

"Perhaps everyone should leave, I would like to talk to Mr. Lebeau alone for the moment." Students began to file out of the room at Xavier's request, whispering among themselves, throwing odd, scared looks at the obviously insane stranger.

Now the room was quiet, and Remy went to take his seat in front of the Professor again as the possible death threat had been taken with the students.

"If you don't mind" Xavier asked quietly, "I would like to take a look inside your mind, I must know what has happened to her, do you understand?" Remy nodded. In the short time he had been in this place it had been easy to see that Rogue meant a lot to these people, possibly even more than she meant to him, though he found that hard to believe. The Professor closed his eyes and Remy felt a slight pressured sensation come over his head, but it didn't last long.

Now Xavier had access to every one of Remy's memories. Sorting through them all, he eventually found the moment when Rogue had first appeared to Remy. He saw her dressed in white, he saw the wings on her back, and it was all true. One of the last things he registered before leaving the boys mind was his deep feelings for Rogue. They had obviously grown very close in the time they were together.

"Well Remy," Xavier began, "in light of what has happened, and on the basis of some of the things I have seen in your memories, I would very much like to offer you a place to stay here, even if it is just for the time being."

Remy sat quietly, considering the offer. He had nowhere else to go, and this had been Rogues home, he was sure he could stay for a while...

* * *

As an endnote, did anybody spot the Breeders reference in the title of this chapter? A hundred million billion super points if you did! I love The Breeders and this is the ninth chapter and it started with some driving so I felt it was too good an opportunity to miss! If you haven't even heard of The Breeders, shame on you! ;-)

Anyway, please please please review! It won't take a moment of your time and you'll be making an author very happy! I'll see y'all soon, take care now...


	10. In which one quest finishes and another ...

Authors Note: Ooh! Double figures! Exciting! I think some of you took the whole 'shame' thing a lil too seriously-it was only a joke! Honest! Please don't feel any obligation to feel shame over The Breeders. Thanks for all your lovely reviews, I was having a really bad few days when I posted up the last chapter and it cheered me up so much to see all those glowing review alerts in my inbox. Award yourselves a pat on the back, go on! 

**Miya Reino:** Ok, I'll tell you what, you don't have to feel shame for not knowing The Breeders and I wont feel shame for the lack of romyness in that chapter. Deal? Good good. Just for you though, there is some romy goodness in this one, I hope you like it! I look forward to receiving my cookies in the mail ;-)

**Ms.Rogue LeBeau:** I'm glad you like-y! I know what you mean, it would be very nice if there was a quick and easy solution to the whole deadness thing, but you'll just have to wait and see!

**Star-of-Chaos:** ok, phew! I was fretting about continuity again there for a bit! You know what? I'd totally forgotten about Mystique, which seems a pretty stupid thing to do considering she's a fairly important character...oh well I guess, no turning back now, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks you very much for your review!

**Ishandahalf:** On a role eh? Clicks for you and gold stars aplenty! You've already predicted a few things right in my story and I don't imagine for a second that they will be the last...Although I didn't actually think about this when I wrote it, the Professor can only see Rogue 'cos she's in Remy's memories, he wouldn't be able to see her otherwise. Make sense? I certainly hope so! Anyway, thanks for your lovely review, you cheered me up and made me laugh.

**GreenFairyGirl88:** lol, its nice to know someone loves this story so very much! And yep, more chapters to come!

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** I have heard of Tsunami Bomb, though I can't say I've ever heard anything by them...are they any good?

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Ten (In which one quest finishes and another begins)

Remy had only been at the Xavier Institute for a week, but already he had settled in quite nicely. He had his own room and was free to come and go as he pleased, as long as he adhered to the mansions rules, nearly all of which he had already pushed to their limits.

However now he was here, he wasn't entirely sure what to do next. The whole point of travelling all the way to New York State was to meet Rogues friends, and now he had done that he felt a little lost. Sure, he could always go back home, but he didn't want to, not just yet.

He had heard from his brother that a lot had changed down in N'awlins. Belladonna and Jacques had both been run out of town, exiled by the guild. If they ever came back, they would be killed. However, the thieves now held more power than the assassins, so for the time being some of the fighting had ended.

Rogue, at least, was ecstatic to be back. She hadn't really realised how much she'd missed her old home. She was pleased to be here with Remy too, it meant a lot to her that he was getting along so well with her former team-mates, all except Scott anyway, those two really had not hit it off.

Now, they were both sitting on the roof of the mansion, the cold night air gently caressing their faces as they looked out over Bayville. Everyone else had gone to bed long ago, apart from Logan, who was AWOL anyway, everything was quiet.

"So what ya gonna do now Rem? Thinkin' about joinin' up?" Rogue asked him jokily, they both new that an x-men regime would not work for Remy, not unless there was some kind of big incentive for him to stay anyway.

"Nope p'tite, Remy jus' gonna stay put fo' a while until he t'ink of a good plan."

He put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She snuggled into his chest a little, her head resting back against his broad shoulder. She knew that this was wrong, it was definitely not something she had planned, but she had never felt this close to anyone before and the longer they spent together, the better it felt.

They stayed there, just like that; enjoying the moment, until Remy suddenly broke the silence that had formed between them.

"Chére, dis gonna sound like a really odd question, but it been botherin' Remy," he said, mysteriously.

"Go on..." she enquired, turning around slightly to look at him better.

"What happened t' y' chére? Y' body I mean..." she thought this was a funny question to ask, but looking into his eyes, she could see he was deadly serious.

"Ah dunno sugah, could still be back at the base Ah guess, it was probably destroyed though..." she trailed off, a little wistfully.

"Well mon chérie, Remy decided dats what he gonna do!" Remy said, almost triumphantly, "I'm gonna find your body! I'm gonna find it and bring it back, den at least y' can have a proper burial or somet'in, y' deserve dat at least."

"Yo' one crazy swamp rat, ya know dat?" yes, he was completely nuts if he thought this little idea of his could ever work out. She doubted that her body even existed anymore, but just the fact he was willing to try filled her with an odd, warm tingly feeling that she couldn't quite place...

"Crazy bout you chére." He answered her, cockily as always, flashing her his trademark smirk.

"Ya know what's wrong with ya?"

"Not'in'."

She had expected nothing less than that answer from him.

"Perhaps ya should go ta bed sugah, get some sleep..." It was 2am now, in a few hours, danger room sessions would begin.

"Yeah, y' probly right bout dat" Remy groaned, standing up on the roof, "night chére."

Rogue didn't answer him though, choosing to stay where she was, lost deep in thought. She silently contemplated his irrational plan to retrieve her body from wherever the hell it was now, probably burnt to ash and buried somewhere unknown-Trask would have no doubt wanted to destroy any evidence. Still, it was nice of him to try she guessed, probably dangerous though. Once again, she was going to have her work cut out for her...

It was then and only then that she left her rooftop seat and effortlessly made it onto the balcony outside Remy's room. Inside, she found that he had already fallen asleep.

'Musta been more tired than he made out' she thought to herself. He looked so peaceful and innocent when he slept, his coppery hair dishevelled, facing up, one hand under his head. She tip-toed over to the bed; completely silent, she bent down beside him and brushed a few strands of hair away from his eyes.

"Sweet dreams swamp rat" she murmured, placing a soft sweet kiss on his lips before leaving him once again.

In his bed, a contented smile spread across Remy's face.

-o-o-o-o-

It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning, and most of the students were either getting ready to go out somewhere or preoccupied with the customary Saturday morning cartoons.

It was drawing close to lunchtime when Remy appeared. Even then, it looked like he had only just rolled out of bed, stopping to throw on some close before he came downstairs. Now he sat at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of strong, black coffee. It was quiet in the mansion, a rare occurrence to say the least and Remy thought that he probably wouldn't be disturbed. He was wrong.

Kitty was one of the few students who had chosen not to leave this morning. Unusually for her, she hadn't felt like going shopping with Jean and Amara and instead had waited around for Remy to come down. She hadn't really had a proper chance to talk to him since he got here, his handsome good-looks had very quickly acquired him a fan club, who took it upon themselves to follow him around and hang on his every word, mindlessly flirting and laughing at everything he said.

"Mornin' p'tite" he greeted her as she walked into the room, going over to the fridge and pouring herself a glass of juice before going to sit at the table with him.

"So," she started, tentatively. "Were you lying? About Rogue..."

"Non" he answered, without looking up at her.

"So she really is dead, and she's, like, talking to you..."

"Oui"

Kitty sighed; this was going to be a difficult conversation to keep up if he was going to insist on being monosyllabic.

"Well is she here right now?"

"Non."

"I like, totally give up!" she exclaimed exasperatedly, "Everyone here thinks you're lying anyway, that or you're like, totally crazy."

Only now did Remy look up to be met by an angry brunette, staring at him incredulously, angry that he wouldn't tell her more.

"Listen p'tite," he began, staring right back at her. "Whet'er y' believe moi or not, it all be true. Roguey been wit' me fo' months, she's mon guardian ange now. She keeps me safe and she be de best friend I ever had. I care a lot 'bout de femme so I came t' meet de people she considers her family."

Kitty tried her best to take this all in. Apparently, he was very serious indeed; he was even talking in the first person.

"You really care about her huh?" she eventually said.

"Oui, I do, wouldn' drag m'self up t' dis horrible, cold place fo' anyone else." That made her laugh, in the time Remy had been here, he had spent a lot of it complaining about the weather.

"Can I talk to her?" Kitty asked him quietly.

"Sorry Kitty cat, bu' no one can see or hear her 'cept Remy. He could pass on a message if y' like dough..."

Kitty smiled, this was a very weird situation, but it was better than nothing. "Tell her I miss her," and with that, she got up and left the room, a little happier than before.

-o-o-o-o-

Remy had decided it was probably wisest to go and let the Professor in on his master plan, it was a long shot yes, but the Professor might just be able to help him out with it.

Now he was sitting back in Xavier's office, a situation not unlike the one he'd been in when he first showed up, the only difference being that this time, he was all on his own.

"So what you are telling me is that you wish to break into a military instalment, steal back a body, which may not even exist anymore, and get out again, without anybody noticing you." The Professor threw him the most incredibly skeptical look possible and lent back in his chair, his fingertips pressed together in front of him.

"Oui" Remy honestly didn't think it was worth explaining it anymore than he already had. He didn't really see the problem with his plan anyway. He was a skilled thief; getting in and out again unnoticed shouldn't be a problem. The issue of the body was a whole other ball game though...

Both Rogue and the Professor had a very good point. Rogue's body may well be long gone by now, after all, it had been a fair while since her death. Even if it was still in one piece and at Trasks base, getting out with its dead weight would make it just that little bit more difficult. Remy never said no to a challenge though.

Professor Xavier studied the boy carefully. He was completely sincere, if a little deluded about the rescue mission he had planned. Evidently, he was going to go through with it whether or not he had any kind of backing from the x-men, Rogue had been part of the team, and they had failed her, now Xavier thought that really, finding her body was the least they could do. It would also give everyone the chance to say goodbye properly.

"Alright Remy, I will call a meeting."

* * *

Ok, confession to make. The part on the roof where Rogue says: "Ya know what's wrong with ya?" and Remy answers "Nothin'" well I kinda nicked that line outta a really great film called "Charade" starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. I don't own it myself in any way, shape or form. That's not exactly how the line was meant to be delivered, but I couldn't resist shoving it in there anyway, forgive me.

So now you all know about Charade, would you be so kind as to review? Pretty please:-)


	11. In which plans are made

Authors Note: yay! So many reviews for me! I feel very loved! I'm glad so many people like the Charade part, I love that film and that line just seemed very fitting. As a warning, the review responses look like they're gonna go on for a fair bit, I have a lot to reply to! Here goes... 

**Ishandahalf:** aww that's a lovely thing to say! I'm glad the author alerts are making you smile! I thought you'd like the Belle thing, I decided that for once, Remy shouldn't have to be the bad guy and dammit! Belle deserves exile! I think it would be very distressing to find your friends body like that, but you'll just have to wait and see what Remy does, I'm trying to give as little away as possible, this story is predictable enough as it is! I hadn't actually thought of the violent death thing (people are coming up with better ideas in their reviews than I have for the rest of this story, you should collaborate and write a super-story!), but making a quick decision on it, if they laid Rogue to rest, she'd still be an angel, but maybe a more peaceful one...ta for the lovely long review:-)

**Ms.Rogue LeBeau:** the dead thing is a problem, Remy and Rogue both know it, they just don't want to admit it...something like that anyway...

**Star-of-Chaos:** oh don't worry, I have a cunning plan! Well its not all that cunning, yours is definitely better, I'm just overworked at the moment and don't really have time to re-write...but thank you very much for your suggestion, things like that are always appreciated. I've been very half-arsed about putting in additional characters, this is very Remy/Rogue heavy but there is more from the rest of the x-men in a couple of chapters...

**Southern Gal 8:** hey a new reviewer! Aww it is sad shes dead, but in this story, if she hadn't died her and Remy would never of met, so there is an upside. Thanks for your review!

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** I'm gonna keep a look out for stuff by them then, I've definitely heard the name but I don't remember ever hearing any by them, I'll do some research... you live in Hawaii? That's so cool! You can't complain about the weather though! I live in London, England and it rains constantly! It's very depressing! I'd love to live in Hawaii...

**Enchantedlight:** ooh another new reviewer:-) it's very nice to hear from you, thanks for the review!

**Abaiisiia:** thank you! I'm glad people seem to like the plot, I wasn't to sure about it to start with myself...Lloyd sounds great, very cute indeed! Thanks for the review!

**Ret:** you'll just have to wait and see ;-)

**Miya Reino:** y'know, I never thought of a Charade fan fic, I'm thinking about it now though...one thing I did have in mind was re-working another Audrey Hepburn classic 'Sabrina Fair' with Rogue as Sabrina, Remy as David and Scott as Linus. I dunno if you've seen that film, but I think Scott and Remy would suit those parts perfectly, although I'd have to use a Scott/Rogue pairing, which frankly I don't want to do, romy all the way! Which kinda ruins the plan...I've totally lost you now haven't I? I'm going to stop rambling now, promise ;-) ta very much for the review

**MorriganFearn:** yay, another new reviewer! It's nice to hear from you too! And what a lovely long review for me! Yeah I'm really not up on Evo (still haven't even been able to see Cajun Spice, damn you British TV) I'm good on the old cartoon and the comic though, so I'm improvising a bit...the only new recruit I've got in here is Bobby (does he count?) and he's turning up in a couple of chapters...Aww, thanks very much for the angel compliment, and aren't you observant! Faye and Mark are a little like Jean and Scott, but far less irritating ;-) I love Cupid too; he's a sweetie...I based all the angels off friends of mine (with the exception of Gabriel, who is gonna turn up eventually), and the real life Cupid is completely loving his part in all this, but the real life Faye thinks I've made her angel boring, but I guess you can't please everyone... As for The Breeders, have you heard of The Pixies? The Breeders is a spin off from them fronted by guitarist Kim Deal. I'm not really sure about any songs that could be used for stories though, I just like to put references to stuff in mine (see if you can spot them all!), the song I used didn't really fit in with the story but I wanted to put it in anyway. I appreciate all the quotes by the way-they made me laugh! Ta for my gold stars too! It was lovely of you to take the time to write me such a long review; I hope you'll do it again some time!

Anyway! I'll stop talking and you can have the next chapter! Enjoy...

**One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Eleven (In which plans are made)**

"What!" Professor, you can't be serious about this!" Scott practically yelled, waving his arms expressively.

"Just calm down Scott," soothed Jean, placing a hand on his arm in a vain attempt to make him sit back down. It didn't work though, and Scott was still jumping around like a crazy person, furious about what they had all just been told.

He was even angrier when he heard that this was in fact Remy's plan. Scott's obvious dislike of Remy seemed to have developed into a deep routed hatred in the last couple of days. Scott liked to make sure everyone stuck to the rules, whilst Remy liked to make sure that this never happened.

Now Scott had his face right up close to Remy's. He was so angry, he had begun to turn purple, it would have been funny if it wasn't such a serious situation. Remy wasn't moving an inch though; he just sat on the desk, staring Scott out. Rogue sat there with him, gripping his hand tightly. She had never seen Scott so angry either, not even when he almost left the x-men altogether did he manage such a spectacular outburst.

"You are not part of this team! Do whatever you want, but don't drag us down with you!"

"Remy ain't forcing y' t' come mon ami." The Cajun replied placidly. Scott ignored him and carried on.

"You're going to get us all killed!"

"Maybe if y' had been a lil faster in de firs' place, I wouldn't be havin' to go find her body now."

Now that worked. Scott was in a stunned silence.

"Remy, ya shouldn't have said that" Rogue said quietly beside him, seeing hurt looks across all friends faces, he had really hit it home exactly how they had screwed up before.

"Had t' be done chére, je suis desole."

Like, who are you talking to? Is Rogue there?" Kitty piped up, excited now. Remy just nodded whilst Rogue waved back at Kitty, who couldn't see her anyway.

Now everyone had forgotten Scott, who was still standing there, staring incredulously at the group, instead their eyes were searching the room, just in case they could see Remy's angel too. No one could, although Jean claimed that she could sense Rogue's presence with her telepathy. Everyone else thought she was attention seeking and ignored her, focusing on Remy instead.

"Errm, hello Rogue," Nightcrawler nervously offered.

"She says: hello yaself sugah!" Remy passed on, doing a poor impression of Rogue's Mississippi accent. Now excited chatter broke out, and Remy was forced to carry messages back and forth beyond the grave, it was very tiring.

Suddenly a forceful cough behind them turned their attention back to the original argument/discussion. The Professor had sat very quietly throughout the excitement, but now he felt would be a good point to intervene.

"Students, teachers, we need a decision. Either we rescue Rogue body or we don't, it is up to you now. Who is in favour of the proposed mission? A show of hands if you please."

Logan, Kitty, Kurt, and Ororo all raised their hands.

"And those opposed..."

Scott put up his hand but Jean decided to abstain.

"So it is decided, the mission will go ahead. Scott and Remy will head the team; I want to know what your finished plan of attack is in the next couple of days. You may leave now if you choose."

And so it was decided, even if it wasn't unanimous, the x-men were going to find Rogue...

Neither Remy nor Scott liked the idea of being stuck together to plan this mission, Rogue on the other hand thought it was hilarious. She sat on the desk purposely being a hindrance and annoying Remy, which in turn, annoyed Scott.

Over a desk sprawled blueprints of Trasks base, sourced by a contact of Remy's. It had been pointed out to them that the last time they broke into this particular base, security had been particularly lax, as if Trask had decided he had no real use for it anymore.

However, mainly due to Scott's paranoia, no chances were being taken. They had different places to get in and out again, back up places to get in and out again, designated meeting points...Although Remy wasn't too fussed about exactly how he would get in, Scott really, really was.

"Ya sure ya got enough escape routes there sugah?" Rogue's smoky southern accent drawled from across the room.

"Aren't y' suppose' t' be helpin' chére? Makin' sure Remy don' get killed..."

"Yeah Ah could do that swamp rat...or Ah could jus' sit here and watch ya and Scottie over there get all stressed."

"Y' cruel y' know dat chére."

"Can you stop arguing with you imaginary girlfriend and help me plan your suicide mission?" interjected Scott, seething.

"Remy don' know which part o' dat sentence t' correct firs'..."

"God, your so incompetent! I've had to do everything myself!"

"Not Remy's fault y' such a control freak."

"Oh screw you!"

"Now boys!" Rogue cut in, standing up and going over to Remy. "Aren't y'all takin' this jus' a touch too seriously?"

"He started it chére," Remy pouted like a petulant child.

"Ah know sugah" she mothered, "but don't let him get ta ya, ok?"

It had seemingly got to Scott though; he had stormed out of the room, no doubt off to find Jean so they could bitch about the institute's newest addition together. Now he was gone, Remy took advantage of the situation, taking Rogues hand and pulling her closer to him.

"Can't believe y' put up wit' him fo' so long chérie."

"Ah never really thought he was all that bad..." she trailed off, biting her lip a little.

"Remy really hopes y' not implyin' what he t'inks y' are!"

Now Rogue blushed a deep pink, her eyes not meeting his but still grinning just a teeny bit.

"Y' didn't!"

"Ah did..."

"How could y' have a crush on a homme like dat?"

"Ah dunno, but Ah can safely say that Ah don't anymore."

"Remy sure is glad t' hear dat," he said, his arms encircling her waist. Now they were right up close against each other and Rogue could smell the spicy cologne he wore mixed in with the smell of tobacco that seemed to be impregnated into his trench coat. She loved it when they were close like this. After years of never being able to touch, she finally felt as if she could let someone in, instead of always pushing people away. Now she was torn though, this was so wrong 'probably borderline necrophilia' she thought to herself, but she still found herself not wanting to ever let him go.

She knew though, that it was only a matter of time before she had to.

* * *

So a mission is planned! Will Roguey get a nice burial with all her friends and family there, or will it all go disastrously wrong? I know what I'm hoping for...

I love hearing from you so please, if you have a spare moment just press that little purpley-blue button and review!


	12. In which it all comes together

Authors Note: thanks for all the lovely reviews you guys keep giving me. I'm very very busy at the moment with work and school so it's nice to be able to sit down in one of my few spare moments and read them, you frequently cheer me up! Feel very proud! 

**Enchantedlight:** yep, a beautiful shade of beetroot! Glad you liked that

**Star-of-Chaos**: I know, gross! You get the feeling Remy hasn't thought this plan through all that well...

**Ishandahalf:** yay, more smiling! I'm sitting here writing this and watching 'Gone With the Wind' at the same time, quite fitting non? Aww, she will have to leave him sooner or later, shes only meant to be helping until his life's straightened out, but hopefully that wont be for a very long time (he doesn't exactly walk the straight and narrow now does he?) but I know what you mean, I always route for the happy ending too. Thanks for the lovely long review!

**Roguewannabe29:** I don't like Scott either; he's annoying isn't he? I can't tell you what will happen though or how this will work out, you'll just have to keep reading!

**Southern Gal 8:** hey you. Merci for the compliment and the thanks, though I'm not entirely sure why your thanking me, I should be the one thanking you for the review! As for the kissing thing, all I'm gonna say is wait, just wait... ;-)

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** sorry but I have an irrational problem with Scott, I always have done. I'm not so keen on Jean Grey either, but she's slightly more tolerable.

**Miya Reino:** calm down! I promise you I wont write a Sabrina parody, but you gotta admit, Remy and Scott would suit those parts very perfectly. Should such a Sabrina parody arise though, and its not my work, I'll help you flame ;-)

**MorriganFearn:** hello! Don't worry about the lateness, its nice to hear from you whenever it is! The long reviews are good; I always appreciate the time and effort that goes into writing them (I'm a lazy reviewer myself, which makes me appreciate them all the more). Faye has been consoled by the fact her character is turning up again later, as is Cupid. I have a question though, tutorial 101? Explain please! Yeah I really don't like Scott, I have some issues with him from the old cartoon that won't go away so I felt like giving him a hard time, I have less of a problem with Jean. Storm would make a good counsellor; she doesn't get angry at all (it's a power thing) so I think she'd make the perfect candidate. The necro thing was the reason I wasn't gonna post this fic up, I thought it might just be a little too strange, but I haven't come up with anything better so in the end I thought I'd just do it and see how it panned out. Rogue is the "one more star" or at least that's what the title implies (its actually a song from Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat...) but you'll just have to wait and see what happens, I'm giving nothing away! I have seen How to Steal a Million, it's a very good film (I love Audrey Hepburn, she can never be replaced) but Charade remains my favourite.

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Twelve (In which it all comes together)

It turned out Scott wasn't the only person with reservations about Remy's idea. Logan, although more than happy to go in alone, seemed to think that some of the less experienced recruits (which was pretty much everyone compared to him), needed more training before they went. Hence all the gruelling extra danger room sessions they were being made to have.

Logan and Scott were really packing them in. Now danger room sessions were starting at four am, and sometimes didn't finish till past eleven, which all in all, left everyone completely exhausted.

"Logan is like, totally killing us!" Kitty complained as she and Kurt tried to catch their breath.

"Ja, but try and remember who ve're doing it for," he breathed, still recovering.

"Yeah, but does he have to be like, this harsh!"

There conversation was broken by the arrival of Scott and Jean who had only just finished their session in the danger room and were looking pretty flushed themselves.

"Remember guys! Team meeting at five!" Jean informed them cheerfully, before walking off towards the changing rooms, Scott in tow. Kitty and Kurt groaned and decided to leave, quickly, before they came back.

-o-o-o-o-

By five o'clock, everyone was assembled in the planning room, waiting for news. Logan was the only person who had not turned up yet, and he was the person everyone was waiting for. Although officially this was Remy's idea and so his mission, it had been hijacked by Scott, and in turn, hijacked by Logan.

Logan had been in an incredibly bad mood ever since Remy had shown up. He didn't like the smart-mouth Cajun much, even though they did actually have a fair bit in common. He was also convinced that Remy was in some way responsible for what happened to Rogue, even though everybody had told him he was just being paranoid.

Suddenly, there was a crash as a pissed off Wolverine made his presence known.

"Right!" he growled. "Listen up 'cos I'm only gonna say this once!"

He didn't really need to say that, everyone had already been shocked into giving him their full attention.

"We will split up into teams of two. Half-pint, you're with Red," he looked over at Kitty, who was scowling. She hated that nickname. "Elf, with Gumbo over there. Iceman, you're in too, you go with Cyclops. Storm, you're coming with me." Storm nodded back at him silently.

"Then its settled, we leave tomorrow night. I want everyone suited up and outside the jet at twenty two hundred hours!" Logan finished. He still sounded angry, but there was now a note of sincerity on his voice that hadn't been there before. Everyone was quiet. Everything they had been training for so incredibly hard was now being put into plan.

-o-o-o-o-

It had been Remy's decision that the mission should take place at night. In his experience, heists like this ideally needed the cover of darkness and so this was the one thing he had insisted on. Ten o'clock wasn't as late as he had hoped, but under the circumstances, he supposed it was better than nothing.

He had been provided with an x-men uniform for the mission. Scott had said very pointedly that if he was going to be a part of the team, he should at least look like it. Remy hated the uniform, spandex really wasn't his thing, but at least he had his trench coat, it was barely ever off his back anyway.

Now ten was approaching and x-men were beginning to come through the steel double doors of the aircraft hanger, making their way towards the jet. Everyone knew that they shouldn't be nervous, they had already been to this base once before, and it hadn't been hard to get in or out. However last time their mission had failed. They had not found Rogue and deep down they all blamed themselves for what had happened to her. This was their one chance to make amends.

"What's eatin' ya sugah?"

Remy spun around to find his very own angel standing to his right, her arms wrapped around herself. He quietly snuck an arm around her waist and pulled her much closer to him, trying not to attract attention to them. Everyone would think it was very strange if they saw him holding thin air.

"Jus' t'inkin' chére, don't y' worry bout Remy"

"We've been over this sugah, its mah job ta worry bout ya."

Remy sighed slightly. "If Remy screws dis up, y' know y' friends are never gonna forgive him."

She turned around to face him, looking him straight in the eye. "Ya not gonna screw this up. Don't worry, Ah know it'll all work out fine," she told him firmly. "Besahdes, Ah'll be there ta keep ya safe, remembah." She added with a slight smile.

"Well how could Remy forget dat..." he trailed off, pulling her to him in an embrace, though not before checking that no one was watching. He didn't need the questions tonight.

They parted as Wolverine barked for everyone to get on the plane, belt up and shut up. Remy started towards the jet, but didn't let go of Rogues hand. In the end though, she took it back off him, she didn't belong on the jet, she had a much faster way of getting there.

"Ah'll see ya there sugah, trah not ta worry, k?" Remy turned to look at her just one more time, but she had already gone, leaving him with nothing more than his own thoughts for company.

"Easy said dan done chére," he muttered under his breath.

"Gumbo!" The sharp sound of a Wolverine sliced through his thoughts, snapping his attention back to the jet and the task at hand. Walking slowing up the steps of the plane, he took a seat beside the ice-boy and considered the best way to ride out the time.

This was it.

* * *

I know, I'm sorry, I've dragged the planning of the mission out for way to long, but its all over now, we're off to the base! I'm no good at writing action-type scenes, so they're abit dodgy, but I have tried, honest.

But all that aside, would you mind being lovely and reviewing the chapter for me, reviews fuel the imagination...


	13. In which a way in is harder than you thi...

Authors Note: Once again, many thanks for all your reviews, 70 is a big number! I'm quietly hoping that we can break 100 by the end, but I think it might be a long shot. Oh well, I'll be happy whatever I end up with, as long as you keep 'em coming!

**Ishandahalf:** lol, yep but the crazy planning is over now, no more taunting from me! I've always thought it's a shame Logan and Remy don't get on well, but I guess Logan's just being an over protective father type figure, its his job to hate the boyfriend ;-)

**Miya Reino:** I agree, I'm not a fan of scogue either. I'm not sure I'd make a great flame buddy though; I'm a motivated writer but a really lazy reviewer. However if I see that Sabrina parody, say no more!

**Enchantedlight:** I'm glad you're liking the story, I'll update as fast as I can, promise.

**Roguewanderer:** hey your back! Thanks for the review. I'll try and update as soon as I can, but school plus exams plus job equals not all that much time anymore. Its lovely to hear from you again by the way.

**MorriganFearn:** you deserve the long response; you give me a lot to respond to! Thanks for the tutorial explanation; I'm not a big player of videos games so I'll blame the fact I didn't know on that, lol. Don't fret, Bobby doesn't turn up much, I just needed an extra person and didn't want to use Evan. His presence is minimal and probably very OOC anyway. Sabertooth and kittens! I can picture it now! All I'm going to say about the booby traps is: Sabertooth could have a maternal side couldn't he? Food for thought...I won't comment much on the 10pm thing either, I'll only dig myself into a hole, as I have no idea why I chose that time, but you have a very good point, a slap on the wrists for me. I think I've seen almost every Audrey Hepburn film, so I must be one awesome possum! That's become my new favourite phrase by the way! Thanks for all your nice comments, they're always appreciated!

**Star-of-Chaos:** he is, but perhaps he should be non?

**Chris:** aww thanks a million, I'm glad you love it. Your character appears to be quite popular ;-)

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Thirteen (In which a way in is harder than you think)

Kitty visibly shuddered as she looked out of her window. She had hated this place the first time they had been sent here, but now she hated it even more. According to Storm, they were somewhere above Pennsylvania, and about to land.

They were about a mile or so away from the base but from this high up, she could still see it as clear as day. It was a sprawling, grey concrete monster, surrounded by rusting barbed wire. Only one level of the base was visible, the rest was buried deep underground, a dirty little secret that the government didn't want anybody to find out about. It seemed to make everything surrounding it look grey and desolate too, it just had a naturally depressing affect on everything it touched.

They landed the Jet in a partially wooded area, to keep it hidden from view, just in case, and began to assemble outside. Wolverine looked angry, but that wasn't unusual. Scott was stoic; holding the team together with an amazingly calm Jean on his arm whilst Bobby had an expression of nervous excitement spread across his face. Kurt was incredibly quiet, he was usually the one bouncing off the walls, but at this time he did no such thing. Storm had remained composed, her powers meant she needed control over her emotions, a flash flood or hurricane was the last thing anybody needed right now...Lastly, Kitty's gaze came to rest on Remy, the unofficial leader of this operation. He was leaning forward on his silver bo staff, trench coat billowing around him as the light chilly breeze caught it. As usual, his emotions were unreadable, he had perfected his poker face a long time ago but Kitty could imagine what he must be going through right now. If they things he had told her were true, him and Rogue had grown very close; he felt something deeper than just friendship towards her.

"Right" Logan started in a hushed voice, breaking the silence. "We spilt up. Gumbo, you and the elf teleport to the south perimeter, find the quickest way in, only teleport again if you have to. Half-pint, phase you and Jean through the east perimeter fence and in through the building, you've both seen the blue prints, you should know where a good place to get in will be by now. I'm gonna take the locks off the main gates and entrances, the rest of us will get in that way, after that, you take the west perimeter, we'll take the north. Don't draw to much attention to yourselves, this place might look abandoned but we don't want the risk of company anyway."

Everyone nodded back at him, knowing better than to argue.

"Storm, some fog" he asked her, looking ever so slightly satisfied as her eyes turned to pure white and a thick mist surrounded the building. "That should deal with any security cameras but Cyclops, Iceman, take 'em out anyway."

"If you find anything, anything at all that could help us, contact the rest of the team with your communicators." Storm cut it. "When the mission is complete, find the quickest way out, and help your team mates to do the same, I don't intend to leave anyone behind. We all meet back at the jet, if you run into any trouble or security features we do not know about, call for assistance. Is that all clear?"

A hushed murmur went round the group, signifying that they understood. "Then go." Storm said finally. In only a couple of seconds, the team had split up.

-o-o-o-o-

Kitty and Jean quickly made their way towards their designated perimeter, making sure to keep to wooded areas and undergrowth, just in case someone was watching. It wasn't long before they reached the sturdy chain link and barbwire fence that was supposed to keep them out.

"Ok Shadowcat, phase us through," Jean told her, grabbing her hand. Kitty did as she was told and walked them both right through all the obstacles. Now they were right up close to the actual building. Kitty froze. She couldn't remember the blueprints. If she phased them through without knowing where she was going, they could well end up in a brick wall or falling down a thirty-foot drop.

"Jean, I, like, don't remember how to get in!" the younger girl panicked, her brown eyes wide.

"Its ok, don't panic," Jean tried to reassure, trying to use telepathy to get the blue prints out of someone else's head. Eventually, she seemed to have come up with something.

"Ah ha!" she exclaimed, quiet but triumphant. She led Kitty round to a nearby section of wall. "Phase us through here."

Kitty took a deep breath and took Jean's hand again, stepping forward, taking them both through the concrete wall. What happened next was a shock. As soon as they phased through, Kitty could feel them falling, Jean had lead them into a staircase. They fell straight to the bottom in an undignified heap.

"Jean!" Kitty hissed, "I thought you knew where we were like, going!"

"I did! This shouldn't be here!"

"Any chance you like, got the plans round the wrong way?"

"Ah."

-o-o-o-o-

Kurt had teleported himself and Remy right to the far side of the military base, past the fences. Now, they began looking over the building for a way in. The place seemed to be sealed up tight, there were no doors on this wall, the windows all had bars on them and the walls were solid concrete.

"Dis gonna be harder dan we t'ought homme," Remy stated.

"No kidding," replied Kurt through gritted teeth.

Remy sadly surveyed the scene again. Here he was, a master thief and he couldn't find a simple way into this building, he had to admit, he felt slightly ashamed. He walked back towards the offending wall to take a much, much closer look when he stumped his toe on something hard.

"Merde" he grumbled under his breath. Suddenly he did a slight double take as a realisation dawned on him. He knelt down to where he had hurt his foot and foraged through the over grown weeds and grass. There it was! Remy looked at it with rapture, a drain cover. This was their ticket in!

Wildly he gestured for his fuzzy friend to come and look at his find. Kurt was less than impressed.

"Vhere going through ze drains!"

"Why not mon ami? Best and mos' discreet way in..."

"Its ze drains!"

"Don' be such a wuss..."

Remy was tempted to charge the metal cover and blow it off, but stealth was what they were going for here. Instead he produced a bizarre looking tool from one of the many pockets in his coat and began to turn dials on it, making the small silver instrument change settings. Eventually he found the one he wanted and unscrewed the drain cover, pocketing the tool before deftly jumping down into the hole.

"C'mon down! De waters lovely!"

Kurt sighed, groaned slightly and resigned himself to his fate, hopping into the drain after the Ragin' Cajun.

* * *

There was one large main gate that led into the base. In front of it was a striped traffic barrier that could be electronically moved up or down to let vehicles in and out, next to this was a small hut, which was evidently used as a guard post and held the controls for the barrier. It looked vacant enough now though. 

With a quiet growl, Logan sliced through the thick chain and padlock that kept the gates held tightly shut. He had to say he was surprised. The base had looked slightly rundown when they were last here but that was nothing compared to this, the place was a ghost town.

"Right, you two" he told Bobby and Scott. "You take that side, we'll meet you in there, be careful." The two boys nodded. They had never seen Logan this serious about a mission before but Rogue had been like a daughter too him, she was his stripes, they had both been through a lot together. He had every right to be upset.

Cyclops and Iceman ran off round to one side of the building, discreetly icing over any security cameras as they went. Once there they hit the same predicament as Gambit and Nightcrawler (though they didn't know that), there was seemingly no easy entrance into this building from the sides; it was built like a fortress.

Scott mentally cursed and turned his full attention to the building. He could simply blast his way in, but it would be too noticeable, they needed a quieter entrance. Bobby kicked at the wall, doing nothing more than hurting his foot. He wanted action and adventure and instead here he was, standing outside a building in the cold.

"D'ya even have a plan, oh fearless leader?" Bobby said, uncharacteristically sarcastic.

"Not quite," Scott replied mysteriously.

"Not quite as in, not at all?"

"Yes," Scott was forced to admit.

There was silence as both of the stared at the wall some more, trying to find any weakness in the structure.

"Bobby, can you make some steps going up to the roof? We can look for a way in up there..."

Bobby complied and quickly formed a fine flight of ice stairs leading up to the flat roof of the base.

They were in luck. On top of the roof was a small entrance leading down into the base, possibly used for emergencies. It was locked up now though, a heavy padlock not dissimilar to the one on the front gate keeping them from getting in.

Scott decided to screw discretion for the moment and very quickly used a small blast from his eyes to take the lock out. They were in.

-o-o-o-o-

With a quiet growl, Logan sliced through the thick chain and padlock that kept the gates held tightly shut. He had to say he was surprised. The base had looked slightly rundown when they were last here but that was nothing compared to this, the place was a ghost town.

"Right, you two" he told Bobby and Scott. "You take that side, we'll meet you in there, be careful." The two boys nodded and quickly ran off to where they had just been sent.

He watched them go, Storm at his side, before looking up at the building. A mixture of murderous anger tinged with sadness and pain filled his eyes. He couldn't help but think about the last time they had come here all those months ago. They hadn't found Stripes then, what made them think they were going to find her now? He cared about all the kids at the institute, but Rogue was special.

When it became clear to them that it was unlikely she would return, he had left, not wanting to face what was happening, pretending it was all some bad dream. He remembered all the people he had lost in the past, like Mariko1, he still missed her, that would never change and the same thing would happen with Rogue.

Seeing the look pass over her teammates face, Storm put a calming hand on Logan's arm.

"This time we will find her, do not worry."

"That ain't gonna bring her back 'Ro."

"I know, but at least you can say goodbye properly." She comforted.

He nodded grimly and set off towards the doors. They were heavy and made of what seemed to be solid steel, dulled by years of rain and dirt. Again, there were padlocks bolting the doors firmly closed, a vain attempt to prevent an easy entrance.

They were no match for ademantium though, and Wolverine's claws sliced through like a hot knife through butter. Slightly satisfied with this little bit of destruction, Logan lightly kicked at the door, making it sing open, revealing the gloomy inside of the military base. He squinted into the darkness, even with his heightened senses he wouldn't be able to see much in this.

"Any chance of makin' it a little lighter in here Storm?"

"Here." Storm handed him a tiny maglight, turning the end to increase the beam.

With the light leading the way, they both set off down the gloomy corridor.

* * *

1.Mariko was Wolverines wife (or almost his wife, I'm slightly sketchy on the details of what happened there) for those who you who aren't familiar 

I have no idea why I decided to use Pennsylvania to house Trasks base. I know in the cartoon, it was Nevada or something but I decided to create a new, secret base as opposed to Area 51. Pennsylvania was just the first place that popped into my head. I mean nothing by it. I'm not even entirely sure where in America it is (yes, that's shameful I know, but I don't take geography anymore so I have an excuse...sorta...)

Also! Quickedit won't let me use my usual story separators things! very unfair! I hope the substitutes work allright, fingers crossed! Annnyyywaaay... I hope you liked this chapter and even if you didn't, please write me a review anyway. Even if it's only a very short one, I still always love hearing from you all, its nice to know people are still reading! 


	14. In which what once was lost, now is foun...

Authors Note: Grrr! Why wont Quickedit work? I hate it I hate it I hate it! I really really do! It pissed me off slightly before, but now I'm really mad at it! It just doesn't work at all! Ok, calming down...promise... 

**Star-of-Chaos:** hee hee, glad you liked it. Yeah Quickedit has annoyed me by not accepting some of my favourite forms of punctuation. I'm glad I'm not alone in hating it!

**Ishandahalf:** ooh just wait! All is revealed in this very chapter about the body and all that jazz, I hope you won't be disappointed; I'm always worried I'll disappoint...

**Willa. J:** I'm glad you like it. Thanks for taking the time to review-I greatly appreciate it!

**Misa1124:** well there's a little more infiltration here I guess, so I hope that makes up for it. Thanks for the review!

**Enchantedlight:** well you needn't wait any longer ;-)

**MorriganFearn:** aww of course I know it's you! Who else would take the time to write me such a nice long review? And what a lovely review it was too! I don't think I've ever had as many nice things said as that! Many thank you's. Yeah I've left out Evan mainly because I don't know all that much about him so it would be kinda hard to write him believably. Bobby's alright really, you just have to completely forget what he was like in the movie ;-). Yep, Chris is the real life Cupid! He's been very encouraging with my writing (even though he doesn't watch x-men and has no clue who I'm talking about!). He says thank you for the awesomeness and tells me to tell you that "you're an awesome possum yourself babe!" that's just Chris for you... I'm looking forward to your "Wait until Dark" parody, I shall be looking out for it! I'm sorry to say though, I can't remember if there's any more stormyness in the story, but keep your fingers crossed anyway! Again, thanks for the lovely encouraging comments and the kudos!

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One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Fourteen (In which what once was lost, now is found...)

Jean and Kitty tried their best to re-trace their steps from their last visit to this place. Underground however, this place was huge. There were secret passages that lead everywhere and rooms barely anybody knew about, if they had ever thought that this would be a quick, easy task, they would have very wrong indeed.

Now it seemed like they were just walking round and round in circles, finding nothing but empty rooms, dust and old equipment as they went.

"Didn't we like, pass that and hour ago?" Kitty asked, pointing at an old chair. Jean gritted her teeth in annoyance, it had to be the hundredth time Kitty had said something like that.

This place gave them both the creeps. The air was cold and stale and the whole place felt like death. Jean wasn't sure whether it was worse this time or last time. Last time, it was deserted but everything was still there and in full working order, she could still pick up the faint telepathic imprints left by the mutants that had been tortured here, experimented on, and died. This time however, she could pick up no such signals, but the place was far more run down, thick dust and grim covering pretty much everything. It was depressing.

Jean pressed a couple of buttons on her communicator.

"Scott? Are you there?" she spoke into it.

"Jean?" a muffled voice asked back.

"Yeah its me, where are you? Have you found anything?"

"I don't know where we are, every corridor looks the same," he told her honestly, "And we haven't found anything useful, how about you two?"

"We don't know where we are either, how are we ever going to find a way out if we have no idea where "out" is?" she asked him, slightly exasperated.

"I don't know, but just keep looking, I'm sure we'll find a way, good luck Jean."

And with that, he signed off, leaving Jean no better off than before.

"So like, what are we going to do now?" Kitty asked.

"Just keep going I guess," was the answer she was given before Jean carried on down the corridor.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Kitty exclaimed before chasing after her.

-o-o-o-o-

The drain as it turned out, had several potential ways out.

"Is it zis one?" Kurt asked again. He had done this at every single drain grate that had come along.

"Non, jus' wait mon ami, Remy knows where he's goin'." Remy really did. He was one of the very few people who had actually memorised the blue prints. It hadn't been hard, memorising things like that had been a basic part of his thieves training and now it was coming in very handy indeed.

Finally, after what seemed like years, Remy stopped and began messing around with the grate overhead. It wasn't long before he had removed the iron cover. Hoisting himself out, whilst Kurt merely teleported, he looked around him. If he was correct, they should be right in the middle of the bases lower level.

"Ah really don't lahke this place."

Remy whipped around to find Rogue standing behind him, hugging herself.

"For dat I don' blame y' chérie," he reassured her, moving closer to her for his own comfort as well as hers.

"Its jus' weird is all, comin' back ta tha place ya died..."

"Well, Remy can't say he knows how y' feel dats f' sure."

"Remy!" Kurt cut through, causing both southerners to turn and face him. "Ve should start looking."

"Do y' recognise any o' dis chére?" Remy asked her as all three of them started to walk down the corridor. Kurt looked at him very strangely. They had all seen Remy seemingly talking to himself before, but it was still an odd thing to watch. He took it for granted though, that Rogue had joined their search party.

"Not really, Ah was unconscious most o' tha tahme..."

They carried on walking down different corridors that all looked the same, peering into rooms as they went until Rogue stopped dead in her tracks.

"There! Ah recognise that room! I think Ah was kept here foah a bit!"

It was a small ward with several gurney style beds, complete with restraints, and not much else in it. There was nothing useful.

"Were y' taken anywhere near here chére?" Remy asked her urgently, trying to force her to remember.

"Yeah, Ah think so anyway."

She carried on a little way down the corridor, before reaching another room, gently pushing the door open. This room proved a lot more fruitful. It was a small office, the only one they had seen so far and amazingly, it wasn't covered in dust of any kind.

There was a desk near the door, with filling cabinets opposite. Kurt took the cabinets whilst Remy made for the desk. This room seemed very out of place in Trasks base. It seemed...lived in, unlike all the other rooms which had once been sterilised and ultimately abandoned, this looked like it hadn't been left quite as long as the others.

On the desk, there was a small, angle-poise lamp, still functional, Remy switched it on, lighting up the dark room. He sat on the swivelly chair and made his way through all the desk draws, finding nothing but surplus stationary and other office equipment. The very bottom draw however, was locked, but Remy quickly picked it open.

Inside was an A4 beige folder, with TEST SUBJECT 826 stamped across the front in severe, black letters. He quickly opened it and gasped very quietly when he found Rogues photo staring back at him. It was a small, Polaroid shot that must have been taken very shortly after she had ended up here. She had a bruise near her right eye and was glaring murderously at the camera. If this had been under different circumstances and she didn't have the bruise, Remy would have laughed.

There was a whole file, albeit a thin one, on Rogue or test subject 826, as she was affectionately known round here. It listed her as an "unknown mutant" female with deadly skin and distinguishing white hair. It also had a list of the various tests that had been run on her. It was incredibly distressing to look at. Seemingly, she hadn't been given anything that would have been permanently damaging to her body, but they had extracted large amounts of blood and tissue for "genetic purposes." Remy shuddered and closed the file. There were about five more in the draw along with Rogues, more mutants whose lives had ended here, but there was no one he recognised.

He was about to show Kurt and Rogue what he had just found when he noticed something else. By the lamp there was a purpley-blue mug, half filled with coffee. Remy put his hand around the mug; it was still warm.

'Merde' he though, 'someone mus' still be here!"

"Kurt!" he called across the room, making the elf snap around.

"I found a file on Rogue, bu' we gotta get out now! Someone still works here, dere gonna come back soon o' later!"

Kurt needed no more warning. He shut the cabinet and him and Remy were about to make for the door when a middle-aged man, with glasses and a faded white lab coat entered. He looked shocked, but before he could stop them, Kurt reached for Remy's hand to teleport them both away. However before they could go, the man slammed his hand down on a blue button on the wall, Kurt was stuck, he couldn't teleport.

"M-mutant dampening field," the man stuttered, closing the door behind him. Despite the fact he looked a little shaken, he wasn't afraid of the two demonic creatures that were stood in front of him.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?" he suddenly demanded, growing a lot bolder.

Remy held up his hands, "We're jus' lookin' fo' somet'in importan' to us homme, an' as fo' de gettin' in part, we could ask y' de same question, dis place shut up like a prison..."

The man looked slightly curious. It had become apparent that these two young men didn't want to cause him any harm or damage to the base, but he did want to know what it was they were after.

"Did you verk here?" the blue one suddenly asked him. He nodded in response.

"I still do some work here, unofficially. I have some...business here that I like to check up on."

Remy looked at the man, obviously weighing up his options.

"Do y' recognise her?" he asked, holding up the picture from Rogues file. Kurt elbowed him in the chest; evidently he didn't think this was a good idea.

"Yes, yes I do..." the man said, shaky hands taking the photo, "Very sad..." he trailed off, genuine emotion in his voice.

"Vhat! Tell us everything you know!" Kurt was getting a little over excited for Remy's liking, he pulled his tail to shut him up. The man gestured for Kurt and Remy to pull up a chair, which they gratefully did.

"My name is Doctor John Hunter, several months ago I worked here for a man named Trask. He wanted me to head a project he had masterminded. He told me it was merely looking into the genetics of mutants, I was fascinated with the subject and so of course I agreed." Remy and Kurt exchanged looks.

"I didn't know how much he hated mutants, I didn't know that, instead of doing more research into the X gene, he was hoping to develop something to kill mutants, using their own genes as a weapon against them. Thank God he was forced to stop before we made any real progress." Dr Hunter stopped and wiped his brow in a nervous way before continuing.

"The girl, 826, was one of the last we brought in. She was one of a group, four I think, but they were split up, the others being sent to different bases. We had only just started testing when Trask came in, yelling as usual, he wanted me to kill her, "terminating the project" he called it..." Hunter scoffed slightly.

"I refused. The only reason I was still carrying out tests for him was because I was bound in by a contract before I realised what the real plan was and then it was too late. This girl, she was so young, barely more than a child, it wasn't right...when I put my foot down, refused to do it; he kicked me off the project. He kept me working here though; I suppose it was dangerous to kick me out completely when I could have so easily exposed him. There's been a cover up now, no one would believe me if I told them..."

Remy looked over his shoulder to see Rogue. She was considerably paler and tearier than she was before. She remembered this man, he was the kindest of all the doctors she had met, always making sure that she had enough food and painkillers to keep her comfortable, none of this was his fault.

"Do you know vat happened to her after that?" Kurt asked, leaning forward on his chair.

"After that, Trask left the base entirely, nobodies seen him since. Me and the other two doctors present at the time made the decision that this shouldn't be the complete end of her life. As well as being interested in genetics, I'm also fairly knowledgeable on the subject on cryogenics. We decided to steal her body and freeze it so that one day she might be able to live her life again, we had already tried with a couple of the others, but we were always caught, we only got away with it that time because people were busy vacating the base. Its still here in the lab, I come in once a week or so to check up on her, you can never be to sure who'll get into an abandoned building..."

"Its here? Can you show us?" asked Remy urgently.

"Of course, its right down the hall," the doctor told him, getting up to lead the way, though not before switching off the dampening field.

Rogue lagged behind the group, taking all this in. She didn't think her body would even be intact, let alone cryogenically frozen...that meant there was a chance for her yet. Suddenly though, she found herself with mixed feelings. Even though she was no longer alive, heaven was a lovely place, her head wasn't crammed with other people's memories, she could hear her own thoughts for the first time in ages and she didn't have her poison skin. Would things really be better if she were alive again?

* * *

So Rogue is still intact! Maybe a happy ending is a little bit closer? I think I've dug myself into a real hole by using the concept of cryogenics. I'm not a scientist in any way, shape or form and so this kinda thing doesn't come naturally to me. I've done research though, promise, so some of it might make sense!

And who remembers Dr. Hunter? Check back to chapter 1 if you don't! Just a lil blast from the past there...

Please please please please review! It would truly make my day :-)


	15. In which the cavalry arrives

Authors Note: I meant to say in the last chapter, thank you very very much to everyone who reviewed Magnolias; it was very good of you! It struck me the other day that this story's nearly over; I'm going to miss it! I have an idea for a sequel though, so I could be back sooner than you think. It might not get written till the summer if it gets written at all though...Anyway, ta for your reviews, shout outs!

**Ishandahalf:** aww, well Rogue is happy in heaven, wouldn't you be? It would be lurvly if her and Remy could be together properly though and I certainly love a happy ending but you'll have to wait and see! I have to say, I'm rather proud of the angst I've written (its coming up soon by the way). Its an area I generally stay away from, but I thought I'd dabble... ;-)

**Star-of-Chaos:** I imagine heaven to be a nice place so your right in thinking a person might not want to leave. That gorgeous Cajun is a tempting offer though!

**Dreamschemer:** oh but what if she never comes back... theres kinda a "will she? won't she?" thing going on now...thanks for your review!

**Evosmylife:** wow thanks for the lovely review! I nearly made you cry? My my! I had no idea anyone would ever say something like that, I'm not sure whether to be flattered or worried, I don't want to upset anyone! I'm glad you're liking this so far, and well done! 14 chapters in one go is quite an achievement!

**Enchantedlight:** lol, I'm not sure you would be in a position to argue if you wound up in heaven, but it's a cool idea none the less, thanks for the review!

**Ms.Rogue LeBeau:** yes, things might just turn out alright after all, you never know! Thanks for reviewing.

**MorriganFearn:** hello! Ahh is that what those little wavy things are called? Interesting...Mwha I intend to keep reviewing 'Silver blood,' it's the least I can do after all the amazing reviews you've given me. I'm very glad you still think my descriptions are good, it's encouraging to know my writings not as crap as I think it is. A whole 32 kudos! My! I'm one lucky author! That's way more than I deserve! As for the Trask thing, watch out for the possible sequel... it may never get written but if it does, there's a good indication of the things to come...  
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One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Fifteen (In which the cavalry arrives)

They were lead down the dim corridor towards a heavy, firmly bolted door. This one room seemed to have more security than the rest of the base put together. After pulling back the heavy bolt on the iron door, Dr Hunter placed his thumb on a small panel next to it so a computer could verify that it was him. After that, there was also a retinal scan, nothing had been spared for this rooms security. Even Remy looked impressed, though he thought he could have probably gotten in anyway.

The lab itself didn't look as it was used for anything other than storage now though as boxes and a fine layer of dust covered most available surfaces. The back wall was made out of what looked like stainless steel and they were several ovals that looked like they could be removed like drawers, but they had no handles.

Hunter walked over to a small hatch by that wall and unlocked it, flipping it up to reveal a keypad. He pressed a few buttons, occasionally stopping to recall the combination before stopping completely.

Remy gripped Rogues hand tightly. He had no idea what she was going through right now, his empathy didn't work on her for obvious reasons, but he took a guess that it must be one hell of a mind trip1 to see your own body like she was about to. The least he could do was offer some silent reassurance.

With the pressing of one larger button, there was a dull hissing sound and one of the ovals began to come out of the wall. The room became instantly colder. The group gathered round to look inside the reinforced glass window that was the only way of identifying the body inside.

It was her alright. The unmistakeable white stripes that framed her face now almost matched the colour of her frozen skin and tiny icicles were visible on her eyelashes. Rogue gasped slightly when she saw it, holding Remy's hand even tighter.

"You knew her I take it?" the doctor asked, breaking the silence. The boys merely nodded. "Tell me about her..." he asked quietly. He knew nothing about the girl other than the fact she was a mutant. At the time he hadn't really wanted to think about her family or friends, the people who had lost her, but now these boys had gone to all this effort just to see her one last time, he felt he needed to know.

"Her name is Rogue, she was only seventeen, she'd be eighteen now I t'ink," Remy looked at Kurt for confirmation. The elf nodded, still looking at Rogue as if hypnotized. "She's from Mississippi originally, ain't got much family...she didn' deserve dis..." Remy trailed off, it was as much as the man needed to know.

Kurt suddenly snapped up. "Ve need to call Storm and Logan," he told Remy. With all that had happened they had both forgotten that the rest of the team was still wandering around the base looking for clues. They needn't look any further.

-o-o-o-o-

"Everyone, Ve've found her. Come to the lower levels, zeres an elevator zat runs through the building near ze main entrance."

At the sound of Kurts voice, everyone made their way to what they thought could be the main entrance. For some, this was easier than others. As Logan and Storm had come that way, they simply retraced their steps, using Logan's heightened senses to make sure.

Jean used her telepathy to tap into Storms mind and find the way. It was Scott and Bobby who got stuck. There was no real way for them to tell where they were going, they weren't even entirely sure where they had come from.

Jean! Came Scott's frantic voice in her head. How do we get to the main entrance!

Jean sighed and showed him the mental image of the blueprint, helping him to find his way...hopefully.

-o-o-o-o-

It didn't take them long at all. In this labyrinth of a building, Remy thought it would of taken them longer, he only knew which way to go because he had Rogue, who had not taken her big green eyes off her body in its icy casket since it had been brought out.

Logan and Storm were first to arrive, closely followed by Kitty and Jean, and not so closely followed by Scott and Bobby. Kurt met them at the elevator, pointing them in the right direction whilst Remy made small talk with the doctor.

As Logan practically skidded into the room, the first thing he saw was Rogues body, and shortly after that, a haggard looking Dr Hunter.

"Who the hell are you bub?" he demanded, claws rapidly unsheathed before anyone could stop him, ferociously glaring at the poor man.

"Y' don' wanna kill dis one mon ami, jus' trust Remy dis one time!" Remy pleaded with the homicidal man, who didn't take any notice. The claws stayed out.

"Wolverine!" a slightly annoyed Storm called out. In his rush he had left her behind. She let out a tiny gasp at the scene, one that was repeated several more times by each of the different students who appeared right behind her.

"Looks like someone has a lotta explain' to do," Logan growled, still in attack stance.

At the sight of six more, very angry looking mutants who all looked about ready to kill him on the spot, Dr Hunter was cursing the fact he hadn't left that dampening shield on.

"I was one of the doctors here..." he began to explain, badly. "I-I froze her body!" that was as much as he managed before the poor man fainted.

"He's not a bad guy Logan, ve should take him vith us, he knows how to get her out of zis thing," Kurt told the slightly calmer man.

"How are we going to get this thing to the jet?" asked Scott, examining the heavy looking pod.

"Kurt, would you be able to teleport it out?" Jean asked him, Kurt nodded. He hugged the casket and bamfed out leaving nothing more than acrid smoke.

Wolverine slung Dr Hunter over one shoulder, letting the man hang down over his back, the position causing his glasses to fall off, Kitty picked them up and they all made their way back up to the top.

* * *

1. Think I borrowed that mind trip bit from one of Ishandahalf's reviews so thanks to you, and hey, even if I didn't you're credited anyway!

Have I messed up Kurt's accent in a huge way? It kinda seems to me like I have...

Again I shall say I no very little about cryogenics, just what I've found through research so if details are a little inaccurate, can I be forgiven? Please?

Review? Pleeeeaaaassssseee!


	16. In which the cards are showing

Authors Note: I'm sorry for the late update! I've been away and had no Internet access so I'm a little off schedule, never mind eh? I like this chapter. I don't really know why I like it, it's not well written or all that exciting or anything like that, though I usually hate all my own work so its gotta be an achievement right? I hope you like it too! Enough to review at least ;-)

**Star-of-Chaos**: Roguesicle! You have no idea how much that made me laugh! Thank you very much:-)

**Enchantedlight:** glad you liked it, ta for the review

**Dreamschemer:** I have read Giddy and I love it. Originally, this story hit a little too close to Giddy, so I have changed parts, though I was still wondering when someone would twig and make the comparison. I just wish I could write as well as Seven Sunningdale though!

**Evosmylife**: bless, cute is fine, I was just worried I'd upset you! It would be truly bizarre seeing your own dead body-its not an experience I ever want myself! Thanks for the review

**Ishandahalf:** aww you'll really miss my story? That's a lovely, very sweet thing to say! Thank you! Hopefully there will be a sequel; I have ideas for one, but ever since I finished this, I've had writers block and to top it off, exams, which means no time to write. The summer is coming though, so maybe, just maybe ;-) I love happy endings too, but you'll have to wait and see with this one, it could go either way, and I don't wanna ruin the mystery! Thanks very much for the review

**Ms.Rogue LeBeau:** I've never seen that film, so I'll have to take your word for it! Thanks for the review!

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:** grounded? Tut tut! Though I can't really talk... Who was at the top of VH1's list? I know who would be at the top of mine!

**MorriganFearn:** I feel your pain. I'm in the middle of important exams too-it's not good. I hope you do really well though, good luck:-) I'm secretly pleased you think I'm giving everyone a fair amount of screen time; I was worried I'd done exactly the opposite! Especially right at the end... I think your accents are very well done! Certainly your Pyro accent is one of the few I don't think is really over done and irritating, it's quite an achievement! I'm sticking my gold stars to my shirt, thank you for them! Once again, good luck again with your finals!

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Sixteen (In which the cards are showing)

It hadn't been easy getting the dead weight of the cryogenic chamber back. Everyone pitched in to help lift and Jean tried to take some of the weight off using her telekinesis, but it was still incredibly heavy.

Remy and Kurt had tried their very best to re-tell the information they had procured before, but not understanding the science or anything made it a little hard. They also gave Logan Rogues file, making him hiss.

They had radioed ahead to tell Hank and the Professor. Hank was especially intrigued. Apparently he had heard of Dr John Hunter and his knowledge of cryogenics and was quite excited about meeting him.

Eventually, with the help of many people, the chamber was in the med lab. Bobby had formed a layer of ice around it to keep it cold, just in case, even though the now awake, but still stunned, doctor had told him it wasn't all that necessary.

-o-o-o-o-

"There is no real method of reviving people from this process with the present medical technology. By doing this I hoped that at some point in the future, when medicine is more advanced, someone would find her and wake her up." Hunter told the large group of mutants that were assembled in the Professors study the next day.

"However," Hank cut in, raising the hopes of the crestfallen students. "We do have some of the equipment left by the Shi'ar. Its far more advanced than anything we have on earth, but it's still not perfect. There is a good chance Rogue will not recover from the process, but there is no way of telling right now, it's just a chance we will have to take if the decision is made to try and revive her rather than lay her to rest."

"We can't jus' give up on her! y' gotta at least try! It ain't like deres anyt'ing t' lose!" Remy practically yelled at both doctors.

"Mr Lebeau, kindly calm down," Xavier sternly told him, forcing Remy to sit back down.

"There is one other thing," Beast continued, "and it does involve you Remy. If we do manage to wake Rogue, it is most likely that she will be able to remember none of what has gone on between you two. She will not know who you are or how you got here, let alone that you are good friends."

The enormity of these words hit Remy hard. What if Beast was right? What if Rogue remembers nothing? He wasn't sure if he could handle that...

"Y' still gotta try," he decided grimly, looking Hank straight in the eye. The furry doctor nodded.

Out of the corner of his eye, Remy could see Rogue perched on one of the arms of the sofa. She looked like she was lost in deep thought, though not in a good way. A confused frown was etched across her features, as if she didn't quite know what to make of the situation. He was getting very concerned about her and was about to get up and go over to her, when she disappeared completely.

"I think that's enough explanation for now, we shall all discuss this matter further after your danger room session this evening," the Professor told them. At the mention of the danger room there was a collective groan. "However, if you would like to stay behind Remy, I would like a word..."

Remy was worried when he heard that. Last time Xavier had wished to talk to him in private it had involved some rather unnerving telepathy. It was too late though; the room had already emptied.

"I sense you are deeply worried about the potential memory loss Rogue may suffer if the procedure is successful." All Remy could do was nod. "I'm afraid it is a risk you must be willing to take but if its any consolation, I believe that memories are a part of the soul, one of the things that make us human, they do not die along with us."

The Cajun took a moment to digest the words. Whether there was any truth in them or not, it was a comforting thing to hear. It certainly made him a little more uplifted anyway.

"There is one more thing however," Xavier cut through his train of through. "Perhaps you should ask Rogue for her opinion in all of this, it seems with all this commotion, her point of view has become slightly... forgotten. May I suggest you speak to her about this first? It is her body after all..."

Remy nodded, feeling suddenly very ashamed that he had forgotten all about his angels opinion whilst he had been fighting her case for her, he had just taken it for granted that this was what she wanted too. He got up, thanking the Professor before quickly exiting the study.

-o-o-o-o-

As Rogue had done one of her great disappearing acts, Remy had no idea where she was. She could be "upstairs" as she called it, she could be somewhere in the mansion, she could be in another country for all he knew. Needing to clear his head, he sought refuge in the place that had become his sanctuary in the month or so he had been here...the roof.

Climbing up there, he was surprised and relieved to find a figure in white, hair blowing softly in the wind, sat on the sloping side of the roof, staring out over the town, the sun just beginning to set. Far in the distance, the bell of an old clock tower rang out, welcoming the seventh hour of that afternoon.

"Y' know every time a bell rings an' angel gets its wings," Remy told her, quietly going to sit down on the roof beside her.

"Ah don't wanna talk ta ya rahte now Rem," she told him quietly, but with force.

"If y' didn' wanna talk t' me, why did y' stay here? Dere are a million ot'er places y' coulda gone, but y' chose here. Gotta mean somet'in..."

She paused for a moment, looking like she wanted to say something but was in half minds as to whether or not she should. Eventually, the truth won out.

"D'ya ever consider other peoples feelin's or wishes when ya make important decisions for them?" If there was a shadow of a doubt in his mind as to what this could be about, it had now vanished.

"Did ya perhaps stop for a moment ta consider tha fact that Ah mahte actually lahke it up here? That Ah mahte not wanna have ta come back. Ah'm at peace Rem. For tha first tahme in years Ah don't have other peoples voices in mah head, there are no memories that ain't mah own and Ah can touch people, Ah didn't have any o' those things when Ah was alive. Ah think things really mahte be better for me here..." she quietly trailed off, leaving both of them lost in contemplation.

"I had no idea y' felt like dat chére." Was all he could offer. "Can y' at least see it from de ot'er way around though?"

She looked at him, slightly confused at what he had just said, but she was still quiet which meant she was obviously prepared to listen to him.

"Seven, eight mont's ago," he started, trying to count back just how long it was ago they had first met, thought that memory would never fade should he live to be a thousand, "I woke up one mornin' t' find de most belle femme dat I've ever seen sittin' in my room, and I haven' been able t' get her outta mon head since."

Rogue smiled. She had never imagined in a million years she would have heard anyone say things like that about her.

"I fell fo' y' Roguey, couldn' help myself, I never felt dis way about anyone else in my life, I can't just let y' go like dat. I wanna have a life wit' y' and grow old wit' y', deres never been anyone in dis world who meant as much t' me as y' do. Je'taime mon ange."

She stared deeply into his red and black eyes, so perfectly contrasted with her own. She allowed herself to melt into his warm embrace. She was still torn though. This was very very wrong indeed, but she couldn't help herself either.

"Ah love ya too Remy" she murmured into his chest, feeling him breath out a deep sigh of relief. Evidently he had been very worried she would react badly to what he had just told her. He never once thought for a moment that someone like her could possibly ever put up with a swamp rat like himself. He had been wrong.

"This is very wrong ya know," she said, teasingly, but ever so slightly serious. They both knew the magnitude of what they were doing. "Ah'm really putting mah job on tha lahne here, Ah hate ta think whats gonna happen when they fahnd out, probly wanna punish us both..."

"Den let de punishment come," he told her huskily, tilting her head up, caressing her soft cheek. He gently brushed a stray white hair away from her face before leaning in, kissing her lips gently, moving down her neck a little, feeling her shiver slightly every time he did so. They both lost themselves in each other then and there. The kisses grew more and more passionate as the sun set behind them. It was growing rapidly darker but neither wanted to move, afraid of what could happen if they let each other go.

-o-o-o-o-

A few blocks away, an elderly man was busy trying to fit in the last of his gardening before the sun set for that day. As he stood up to straighten out his back and wipe his brow, he looked up towards the beautiful golden sunset that was painting pink and orange hues delicately across the evening sky. On it's way back down from the sunset, his gaze fell upon the roof of a nearby mansion. He could have sworn he saw a man happily embracing thin air! He shook his head; it must be the heat getting to him. He went back inside, deciding that next time he went out to do gardening all day in the sun, he was definitely wearing a hat.

* * *

Aww bless! Wasn't that cute! They love each other! Well they sorta did before, but you know what I mean...and the old man! I just love him, god knows why, I seem to have become very attached to my bit-characters... but scary moment with Rogue not wanting to come back! It's a good thing Remy was there to talk her down (so as to speak)

Anyway, I hope you liked that! Please please please review:-)


	17. In which the end is nigh

Authors Note: 100 REVIEWS! You people rock! Oh I'm very happy now! I was hoping to get to 100 before the end:-D. Many thanks to everyone whose contributed to the review total. Anyway, yes this is the penultimate chapter. Its crappy and poorly written, but I'm building up to the ending-its my only excuse. Shout-outs!

**Episodic:** I'm glad you think I'm original; sometimes it's good to be different. Someone stole your idea? I'm sorry to hear that, though I guess that's the problem with something as huge as you never know who might write what next. I'm sure yours will be better though ;-)

**Star-of-Chaos:** I do think they deserve a happy ending, then again, I always think they deserve a happy ending! They have it much harder than any other x-men couple (or any couple for that matter). Haha, I like your term "pulling a seven," I wonder if she'll be pleased that she has her own phrase?

**IceAngel46:** thank you very much! I'm glad you like it :-)

**Evosmylife:** ahh the gardening man...he's unnecessary but I love him all the same. I'm glad people like my made up characters, especially Cupid, I think I'd be heartbroken if everyone hated him! Thanks very much for the review.

**Ishandahalf:** yep, my wonderful A Levels, so much fun... And a new story from Ishandahalf? Oh I gotta say I'm excited already! I have high hopes as your last two were excellent, you write me under the table anyday. Rogue has decided to come back rather than stay in heaven. I didn't explain that very well but that's what I implied, apologies... thanks very much for the lovely review and good luck with your exams!

**Dreamschemer:** what a sight indeed! Sorry you felt the chapter was too short, I don't seem to be able to write them above 2000 words and I think this one is even shorter. Thanks for the review!

**GreenFairyGirl88:** maybe she could, the possibilities are endless, but you'll have to wait and see, I'm giving nothing away! ;-)

**Enchantedlight:** glad you liked it, ta for the review.

**Ms.Rogue LeBeau:** you were my 100th review! Have a sticker and a cookie and whatever else your little heart desires for you are wonderful! Thank you very very much.

**MorriganFearn:** Global history? Now that sounds like fun (not!) I hope it all went well for you though. I know what you mean about the Shi'ar thing, it does seem like I'm palming you off a bit. I'm only using it to kinda back up the cryogenics thing and it wont feature much. I don't know much about science at all, I don't even take it at school/college anymore so the Shi'ar have become my 'get out of jail free' card. I would say 101 is pretty damn good, hey, if you'd been a day or so earlier, you might have been 100! Thank you for all the lovely things you said about my writing, that was very encouraging! If you like the bit characters, wait for the next chapter, and that's the only spoiler I shall give ;-)

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Seventeen (In which the end is nigh)  
  
Beast looked up from the control panel of the one of the few pieces of Shi'ar medical equipment that was still functional. They had been given eight originally; all of varying sizes and usefulness but now only three remained.

If he had said that he wasn't worried about what they were doing, he would be lying. He had very little knowledge of Cryogenics, and far less experience in the field, but Dr Hunter seemed to know what he was doing which made him slightly more confident.

Stopping to survey the bits and pieces of machinery that now lay scattered around his once tidy med lab. Assessing the situation, it seemed that not all of this equipment would be useful. There was one piece however; that he thought would be useful indeed. It consisted of several small patches, not dissimilar to an ECG and it was designed, or so he had been told, to stimulate the respiratory system. Beast very much doubted that it would be enough on its own, but in conjunction with something else he had in mind, it may well help.

In order to revive Rogue she would also need a huge blood transfusion to replace all her own blood that had been lost in the cryogenic process. There were a few people in the mansion that had the same blood type as Rogue, but there was someone in particular he had in mind.

-o-o-o-o-

Wolverine leaned against the counter, reading the paper and drinking the last of his coffee. In a few minutes, he intended to put the newbies through their paces in the danger room. Now that should be fun...

"Eh hem," came a small cough in the doorway. Logan looked up to find Hank, looking slightly nervous, standing at the door.

"C'mon Hank," he told him, going back to the newspaper in front of him.

"Logan I have come here to discuss a matter of great importance with you, it concerns Rogue."

At that, Logan closed the paper, giving the doctor his full attention.

"We will need to give her a blood transfusion after the last of the liquid nitrogen has been removed from her body and she been has warmed up a little. You have the same blood type as Rogue and therefore would make a suitable donor anyway, but I think you know the other reason I had you in mind."

"My healing factor..." Logan murmured

"Indeed. It is very likely that owing to the amount of blood that will need to be given, some of your healing factor will be transferred. It should be enough to start healing her body, and with the medical technology we have at our disposal, there is a far better chance that she will recover."

"Course," Logan told him gruffly. "How much do you need?"

"A lot," Hank said truthfully. "But we will do it in different amounts each day to give you time to rejuvenate, it should take far less time with you than it would with anyone else."

"Just tell me when to start," Logan consented.

"Well we can start now, come down to the med lab with me and I'll start drawing it."

Logan nodded, his danger room session forgotten for the time being. Some things were far more important.

-o-o-o-o-

After a week of steady blood donations, it was decided that they had enough blood to keep Rogue going before her body would be able to take care of it itself. The procedure was planned for the very next day and nervous excitement ran throughout the mansion like electricity.

"Nervous chére?" Remy asked his angel as they sat together on the roof for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"A lil ah guess. Either Ah wake up and we live happily ever after or Ah stay dead and am possibly kicked outta heaven and never get to see ya again" she said, weighing up the situation. Her romantic notion about her life being better in heaven had disappeared when she had realised what the most likely outcome of her staying was.

She had told Faye about her and Remy, who had been supportive, though not exactly pleased. Apparently things like that didn't happen very often, once in a blue moon, Faye had said. She had also told Rogue about a story someone had told her about the last guardian angel to fall in love with their guardee. Even though it had been a one-sided thing, the outcome had not been good...

It seemed very possible that after all this, love may be the very thing that tore them apart1. Rogue wondered quietly how long it would be before Gabriel found out, after all, it was only a matter of time. Personally, she was amazed that he didn't know already. She would have thought that it was part of his job to know everything that went on, but then again, he had a lot of angels to watch so maybe she had just slipped through the net, which was lucky for her.

"Try not t' worry 'bout it mon amour. Sometimes t'ings have a way of workin' out for de best..." Remy tried to reassure her, though underneath it, he was as worried as she was.

"Ya wont say that when we're both rottin' in hell or somthin'" she added grumpily, making Remy smile, though she couldn't see it from where she was, her head laying on his chest.

She sat up and looked at him, suddenly serious, looking deeply into his demon eyes.

"Ya know, if Ah do wake up, we wont be able ta touch anymore, Ah still wont have control over mah powers."

"Doesn't matter chére, being able to hold y' in my arms properly will be enough, but mebbe we make the most of it while we can, non?" he grinned and stroked her face, kissing her for what may be the last time.

* * *

1.Sorry! I've been listening to Joy Division...looking back on it, thats quite a cheesy line... 

If you don't know the old cartoon and comics, then I'm guessing there's a good chance you've never heard of the Shi'ar, or am I wrong about that? Like I said before, I'm not up on Evo...

It's my 18th birthday next week! (On the 21st if anyone cares) I'd like reviews as a present please ;-)


	18. In which the curtain falls

Authors Note: So this is the last chapter -_sniff-_ Its been quite a journey hasn't it? I gotta say you've all been incredibly patient, you lovely lovely people. I had a great birthday by the way, thanks for all the nice birthday wishes especially the nice little birthday dedication from Ish ;-). So for the last time, shout outs...

**Enchantedlight:** aww thank you! And thanks for the review too

**Ishandahalf:** thank you very much for my birthday fic! it was a great present! November you say? Well you never know, you may get a sequel to this for your birthday then! Taking your fic hostage is just plain cruel though! I'm looking forward to that! Though we'll just wait and see what you think of the ending ;-). I've done some research on cryogenics, but science isn't my strong suit so I'm blagging it a bit, hopefully it will make sense slightly, I promise nothing though. Thank you very much for all your entertaining reviews over the chapters, you've been great!

**Ms.Rogue LeBeau**: thank you too! I'm very happy I got so many birthday messages; you're all very kind.

**Star-of-Chaos:** ahh well that's one more than I've ever been responded to. Though I cant say I blame her, a trillion reviews, though the ultimate dream, would be pretty hard (not to mention lengthy) to reply to, plus, I'm a very lazy reviewer! Thanks very much for all your reviews; I always look forward to getting them!

**IceAngel46:** a review is a review is a review. Well written or not, I love them all! Thanks very much for yours!

**Evosmylife:** hahaha! Clones, now that's a scary thought! I've never seen van helsing but I think I remember putting in a little description of what Gabriel looks in this chapter. Thank you very much for the song, that made my day!

**Dreamschemer:** thanks. I'm pretty sure this chapter is longer and better than the last, I hope you like it!

**Panther Pendragon:** heh heh, thanks

**Episodic:** yep, I'm a Gemini too! Happy birthday for the fourth! There is a sequel in the works, but it won't be finished or possibly posted for sometime. I'm glad you like the story enough to want one!

_As a side note_, I finally got to see Cajun Spice the other day. You're right, its seriously good!

So without further ado, here is the last chapter of...

One More Star in the Sky  
Chapter Eighteen (In which the curtain falls...)

"We are ready to begin," Beast told the small group that had formed outside the med lab. "I have to warn you, this may take some time.

Many hours ago they had taken Rogue out of the chamber and removed the liquid nitrogen that had replaced her blood, keeping her frozen. It had taken ages, but finally her body had returned to a temperature warm enough so that it would not freeze any new blood that was put into her veins.

The door closed and a collective breath was held. Remy wished for two things right now, one was a cigarette and the other was Rogue holding his hand. The former was achievable, though he didn't want to leave right now. The latter however was not.

Finally the thing Rogue had been fearing had happened. She had been called to Gabriel's office to discuss what had gone on. Remy had a funny feeling, and probably a justified one, that Gabriel was not going to be a happy angel...

-o-o-o-o-

Rogue stopped to take a breath before knocking on the white door of Gabriel's office. Faye had come with her too, just in case she needed someone to be there for her. The waiting had been terrible. Gabriel was a busy man and so Rogue had been forced to wait a very long time before being called in.

Opening the door, she found a youngish man in a smart white suit sitting behind a desk. He had dark hair and a small beard, not quite a goatee. Funny, Rogue had expected him to be a lot older, though everyone she had met in heaven was young; people seemed to be reverted to about 20 years old once they arrived here.

"You must be Marie Darkholme. I've been expecting you, please take a seat." Gabriel told her, gesturing to some seats on the other side of the desk. Rogue did as she was told.

"I'm sure you both know why we're here," he started, looking pointedly at both Faye and Rogue. "What you have done is completely unacceptable, I simply cannot allow it." He said, fairly calmly, addressing only Rogue this time.

"There will be punishment of course, you may be asked to appear in front of a tribunal. If that happens, it has gone a lot higher than me and so it'll be out of my hands."

"Gabriel please," Faye started before she was abruptly cut off.

"No! It's completely unacceptable! And you! You were suppose to be watching her to make sure nothing like this happened!" he practically yelled.

"No, don't blame Faye, its not her fault," Rogue told him, she knew she shouldn't have let Faye come...

"Don't talk back to me!" Gabriel was getting very angry indeed now, sounding a little like a parent. "I haven't decided what your punishment will be yet, but it will be severe, what you've done goes completely against every rule we have here."

Rogue hung her head slightly. This was turning out worse than she imagined...

-o-o-o-o-

"We have finished the blood transfusion and started using the Shi'ar respiratory device. The good news is that Wolverines healing factor seems to be working splendidly, though she isn't out of the woods yet. Her lungs and heart seem to be showing signs of improvement, but there has been no activity from her brain as such." Hunter informed them all.

Remy gulped. It was great that her body was getting better, but if her mind wasn't there she would never wake up.

"Only time will tell, but the improvement she has shown so far is very encouraging, now we just have to play the waiting game." The doctor continued. "Perhaps you would like to sit with her?" he asked Remy, who nodded.

Walking into the room, he saw his Rogue lying there, hooked up to many wires that were either helping her or checking her progress. She didn't look as pale now, at least that must mean the blood was getting round her body.

He sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. It was still fairly cold. He wasn't wearing gloves and neither was she, so he took a guess that her powers couldn't be active just yet.

She looked so innocent and peaceful lying there. Some things just weren't fair. This should have never happened to her, though Remy supposed if it hadn't, they might never have met. Sometimes you have to be grateful for the hand fate deals you.

A large, furry hand was placed upon his shoulder; silently reassuring that everything would be alright. Hypocrite. Beast had no idea if this would work; he was worried himself. Remy would be crushed if this didn't work out, he just knew it, the boy had pinned all his hopes on her recovery.

"Y' gotta come back to me Roguey," he whispered, hoping that wherever she was, she could hear him.

-o-o-o-o-

The argument between Gabriel, Rogue and Faye had become a very heated one by now. Rogue was sure there were probably people listening outside the room to find out what was going on. Arguments of this proportion _never_ happened in heaven.

"You shouldn't be able to punish someone for falling in love! Its not like it's a sin!" Faye was almost yelling too now.

"Its not the fact she fell in love! Its who she fell in love with!" he screamed back.

"Ah'm still here ya know!" Rogue added, they were all talking about her like she couldn't hear them.

Suddenly, she felt a tug, like something was pulling her very strongly and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She cried in surprise, shutting Faye and Gabriel up simultaneously.

"Marie! What's wrong?" Faye rushed over, mothering.

"It feels lahke Ah'm bein' pulled! Maybe it's workin'!"

"What? Whats working?"

"They found mah body. It was frozen and now theyre trahin' to bring me back!"

"What!" Gabriel practically exploded this time. "This is even worse! What were you thinking! You can't just leave heaven!"

"Looks lahke Ah am though!" Rogue grinned, happy at last.

"No, I wont let you go!" Gabriel suddenly pulled her back, stopping the invisible tug from the other side.

-o-o-o-o-

Remy perked up at the sound of the brain monitors suddenly making some noise. It was tiny, barely showing up on the screen, but it was there. He was elated.

"Look! Henri! She's back! She's comin' back t' me!" Remy was grinning and laughing in excitement. However his excitement was short lived.

Suddenly the brain activity stopped.

"What happened? Why has it stopped?" he asked, looking around for answers, panicking.

"It is hard to tell. Seemingly Rogue looked like she was returning to her body, but then she disappeared again, though her body still seems to be in good working order. I can't imagine what has happened..."

"So is dere still a chance she'll get back?" he asked frantically.

"I'm sorry Remy, I don't know."

-o-o-o-o-

"Stop! Ah need ta go back!" Rogue screamed to no avail.

"No!"

There was a struggle between the two. Rogue, desperate to get back to her body and Remy, Gabriel, desperate to keep her in heaven so she could face the consequences of her actions.

Faye just stood there, looking between them. This whole situation was just bizarre. She had seen a lot of things she'd never dreamed possible in her time here, but she had to say, this was the winner.

There was the crashing noise of the door being pushed open very hard and the struggle was momentarily forgotten as everyone snapped around in the direction of the noise. There in the doorway stood Cupid, an almost murderous expression on his face.

The fighting had attracted the attention of almost everyone in the huge office by now and they were all craning they're necks, desperate to see what was happening. They were out of luck though as Cupid slammed the door shut behind him.

"Gabriel what are you doing! Let this poor girl go immediately!" Cupid yelled at the top of his effeminate voice. "I simply cannot let you do this!"

"Leave this alone Cupid! Its none of your business!" Gabriel yelled back.

"Oh contraire! This is in my department and therefore, it is my business!"

He was met by three confused stares

"Those two are _destined_ to be together! You cannot come in between true love!"

"But its wrong! Very wrong! She's an angel and he's a mortal! It just won't work!" Gabriel explained.

"It won't work because you won't let it work! However they met, it was meant to be! Let her go back to her body, do the right thing!"

Rogue felt please that Cupid had come to her rescue, even if it was a little unexpected. He was doing a good job fighting her case for her, and whilst him and Gabriel were having their little confrontation, she could feel the pull taking her back again. Gabriel was distracted; if she kept quiet he wouldn't notice.

"Right now I don't care if its destiny or true love or whatever, she cannot leave heaven!"

"Oh yes she can!" Cupid almost screamed. He looked over at Rogue and noticed that she was started to fade, disappearing from heaven. He beamed at her, but this attracted the attention of Gabriel to what was happening behind his back.

"No!" he yelled again, making a lunge for Rogue. Before it was too late, both Cupid and Faye grabbed an arm and dragged him back, keeping him away. It was no easy task...

Just before Rogue slipped away, she heard voices call out to her.

"Good luck Marie! We'll keep an eye out for you!"

"Yes, have a lovely, lovely life my dear! Best wishes!"

And with that, she was gone.

-o-o-o-o-

It had now been a very long time since Rogue's body had begun to respond to the treatment but her mind was still showing no signs of improvement after its little blip. Hank was now toying with the idea of getting the Professor to take a look, but he wasn't all that sure it would help.

As far as they knew, Rogues body was in full working order once again, but her soul was still absent. Without that she could never wake up, all the effort of cryogenically preserving her and in turn reviving her would all be in vain.

Remy was still sitting with her. Holding her hand and murmuring for her to get better, to come back, constantly switching between English and French. Hank wondered exactly how long he would be prepared to sit there.

Bleep

Hank's ears pricked up, as did Remy's. Was that the brain monitor, or just the machinery making unimportant noise?

Bleep

There it was again. Remy hadn't wanted to get his hopes up, but now he looked up he could see waves slowly forming on the monitor, a steady, consistent bleeping shattering the silence.

Bleep

Hank and Dr Hunter both came over to examine the patient. It was true; her brain really was showing signs of activity once again. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long before she woke up.

Remy thought it was too good to be true. He held her hand even tighter, as if expecting her to slip away from him again, at the same time, red on black desperately searched for any indication that she might be waking up. Soon enough, there it was, it was small, but it was there, a tiny flutter of her eyelashes.

"Rogue? Can y' hear me chére?" he asked almost frantically.

Rogue groaned slightly and attempted to open her eyes. It was harder than she thought. However it was worth it, and the first thing she saw when she opened her bright green eyes was Remy, smiling back at her. She could even see that he was starting to well up slightly.

"Remy?" she asked quietly, not quite believing it to be true, perhaps this was all some cruel dream, a punishment for what she had done.

"Oui chére, I'm here," he reassured, silently thanking anyone, anyone at all, that through all of this, she had retained her memory.

Rogue began to attempt to sit up, but her body was incredibly stiff. Unsurprising really, considering what it had been through. With Remy and Hank's help though, she finally managed it, propped up by pillows so she could sit comfortably. It was only then that she realised Remy's hand was holding her own. He was holding her _bare_ hand in his.

"How? How are we touchin'?" was all she managed to choke out at Hank.

"I presume that all the strain on your body has affected your mutant powers, not to mention the things you may have been given at Trasks base." At this last part, Dr Hunter looked incredibly ashamed. "Your powers should hopefully return soon, though they may not be as strong as they once were." Hank finished. Rogue smiled, turning back to Remy.

She ran a tentative hand through his auburn hair before he grabbed it, kissing the palm, making her smile even more. She was so happy to see him, properly see him, touch him without feeling guilty.

"Ah love ya Remy," she whispered through tears.

"Love y' too Roguey," he murmured back before pulling her into a hug, her arms around his neck, he kissed her hair silently as he held her, never wanting to let her go, he loved her too much.

Hank looked at the couple and smiled. 'Ahh, young love' he thought to himself. Suddenly, he noticed something out of place. The thin hospital gown that Rogue was wearing had come open slightly, exposing some of her skin.

On her back, running parallel to each other, there were two peculiar dark lines, etched onto her pale skin...

* * *

Aww, its all over and angels save the day! But the happy ending is what counts...

In true 'Oscars' style, I'd like to say a few thank you's. Firstly, my friends Faye and Chris who have been encouraging me to finish this story all along and have formed the basis for my made up characters, big hugs and many thanks, I know when you get round to reading this you'll be pleased your characters saved the day ;-)

Also, everyone who's taken the time to read this story, thank you for doing so, I hope you enjoyed it! Lastly, anyone and everyone who took their time to write me a review, it was truly lovely of you to do so, especially the people who have reviewed from the very start like ishandahalf and Star-of-Chaos and also MorriganFearn (the only person who could write a 2 page review!). This was the first story I had the courage to post and all your kind words and encouragement have made me glad I did.

Hopefully I'll see you all again soon, take care of yourselves!

SweetRevenge


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